Tag: experience

Mastering Global Deals: The Power of Cultural Intelligence in Negotiations

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Cultural intelligence (CQ) is the capability to relate and work effectively across cultures, and it plays an important role in effective cross-cultural negotiations. 

High CQ allows negotiators to understand and respect cultural differences, adapt their communication styles, and build stronger relationships.

We’ve talked about CQ a lot recently, and here, we explore the concept of CQ, its importance in negotiations, and strategies to develop and enhance CQ skills.

Understanding Cultural Intelligence (CQ)

Much like my own method of cross-cultural success – which includes Awareness, Acceptance, Adaption, Adoption, and Action – CQ is composed of four key components:

These components work together to enable negotiators to manage cultural differences and leverage them for successful outcomes.

The Role of CQ in Cross-Cultural Negotiations

Building Trust and Rapport – CQ helps negotiators build trust and rapport with counterparts from different cultures. 

For instance, when negotiating a joint venture between an American and a Japanese company, understanding the importance of building personal relationships in Japanese business culture can be critical. 

The American team might spend more time on informal gatherings and exchanging pleasantries, which is essential for gaining the Japanese partners’ trust.

Effective Communication – CQ enables negotiators to communicate more effectively by recognizing and adapting to different communication styles. 

A famous example is the 1999 merger between French company Renault and Japanese company Nissan.

Renault’s executives, aware of the Japanese preference for indirect communication and consensus-building, adapted their approach to include more group discussions and consultations, facilitating smoother negotiations and a successful partnership.

Avoiding Misunderstandings – CQ helps avoid misunderstandings that can derail negotiations. 

For example, in many Middle Eastern cultures, prolonged eye contact is a sign of sincerity and trust, whereas in some East Asian cultures, it can be seen as confrontational. 

Recognizing these differences allows negotiators to adjust their behaviors accordingly, preventing potential conflicts.

Developing and Enhancing CQ Skills

Education and Training – Formal education and training programs focused on cultural awareness can significantly enhance CQ. 

Workshops, seminars, and online courses that cover cultural norms, communication styles, and negotiation tactics in different cultures are invaluable.

Experience and Exposure – Traveling and working in diverse cultural settings provide practical experience crucial for developing CQ. 

Immersing oneself in different cultures helps one understand their nuances better. 

Companies like IBM and Unilever often rotate their executives through international assignments to build their CQ.

Mentorship and Feedback – Seeking mentorship from individuals with high CQ and soliciting feedback on intercultural interactions can accelerate learning. 

Mentors can provide insights and practical advice based on their experiences.

Reflective Practice – Reflecting on past negotiations and interactions to identify what worked and what didn’t helps in continuously improving CQ. 

Keeping a journal of intercultural experiences and reviewing it regularly can provide valuable lessons.

The bottom line is: Cultural intelligence is an essential skill for effective cross-cultural negotiations. 

It enables negotiators to build trust and respect, communicate effectively, and avoid misunderstandings, leading to better negotiation outcomes. 

By investing in education, gaining diverse experiences, seeking mentorship, and practicing reflective thinking, individuals and organizations can enhance their CQ and better launch themselves in the global market.

Social & Cultural Capital, Part 2: How to Benefit from Each in the Workplace

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Cultural capital can be considered an important workplace resource, as it often shows a person in a certain light.

Although this type of capital is centered around competence, qualifications, and experience (universal assets), it is specific to each culture, because the values of society set the tone for what assets are most prized. 

We talked about social capital last week, which is all about who you know.

But cultural capital is about what you know and can do – the skills and knowledge you bring to the table as an individual. 

This can include anything from being a master wordsmith to having an eye for art that’ll blow your socks off.

In that way, you have more control over cultural capital than you do social.

But…cultural capital is like a secret weapon that not everyone knows how to wield. 

And that weapon comes in several forms, including embodied and institutionalized cultural capital.

Embodied & Institutionalized Cultural Capital

Embodied cultural capital refers to the skills and knowledge that you’ve acquired through personal experience, training, and education. 

This type of cultural capital is highly subjective, as it’s shaped by your unique experiences and background.

Think language skills, artistic talent, physical coordination, social grace, and more. 

View embodied cultural capital as the foundation of who you are as an individual.

It’s something that can have a significant impact on your social class, career prospects, and overall success.

Institutionalized cultural capital, on the other hand, refers to the formal credentials and recognition that you’ve acquired through institutions such as universities, colleges, and professional organizations.

Institutionalized cultural capital can include degrees, certificates, and other formal qualifications. 

It can also include the prestige and reputation of the organizations with which you’re affiliated.

But it’s not just about what you know and what you can do. It’s also about who you know and where you belong. 

Institutionalized cultural capital can give you access to certain social networks, job opportunities, and higher-paying positions.

How Can You Earn Cultural Capital?

Understanding the cultural capital that holds value within your environment is crucial, as certain skills and attributes are prized and can lead to greater opportunities, career success, and social status. 

For example, if you want to make it big in a high-wheeling law firm, you’ll need to be able to flaunt your fancy degree and show off your deep understanding of legal culture.

Or if you’re in the tech industry, having skills in programming languages like Java, Python, or C++ will be a game changer. 

The bottom line is: You need to know what skills and attributes are highly valued within your environment, and then develop those skills and cultivate those attributes. 

You also need to make connections and build relationships with people who can help you advance in your career. 

And, of course, you need to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in your field.

Who knows, if you build up enough social and cultural capital, maybe someday you’ll be able to cash it all in for a fancy corner office and a solid gold stapler.

I am a Third Culture Kid: Here’s What I’ve Learned

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Third Culture Kids grow up in more than one culture.

Like Barack Obama or any other child who wasn’t raised in their parents’ homeland, I was expatriated and embedded in a foreign culture from a young age and learned how to adapt.

In fact, I grew up in three cultures.

My family was Swiss. At home, we had Swiss behaviors and traditions.

My school was French. I learned the French language, learned about French history and geography, and befriended my French peers.

My surroundings were African. The market, the neighborhood, the people, the culture – the reality of life all around me was that of the Mossi tribe.

I learned how to alter my body language and my behavior. Even my sense of humor differed depending on the audience.

This is what a TCK learns early on, which many only learn later in life:

Adapting is a necessity across cultures.

Perspective and Behavior

TCKs are in a specific cultural group all their own.

They are in a unique position where they are made to value various cultures, placing relatively equal importance on the behaviors and norms of them all.

The “rights” and “wrongs” that are culture-based and learned through primary socialization vary, and so the TCK learns that hardline views differ from group to group.

This allows some flexibility when navigating contradicting norms and values of the cultures into which the TCK is placed.

In this way, TCKs develop specific interpersonal behavior and standards of perspective that a child raised in a single culture does not, as they are not so exposed to opposing worldviews. 

A TCK’s lifestyle is different. Their communication is different, not only in its multilingual nature, but in its style, nonverbal and otherwise.

The complexity of their firsthand experience with multiple cultures produces in them distinct characteristics that enable their positioning as the perfect zookeepers.

Here’s why.

Zookeepers Know Different Species

Due to their knowledge of and relationship with multiple “species” in the “zoo,” TCKs have developed a natural understanding of various perspectives.

They can see through the eyes of the elephant, the eyes of the penguin, the eyes of the giraffe.

They can even see through YOUR eyes: the eyes of the monkey.

While those who have grown up in one culture develop firm values and norms rooted in that single culture, this can often hinder the acceptance of contradicting values and norms.

Those growing up in single cultures often view other perspectives as wrong, rude, forbidden, or even illegal.

Instead of seeing the whole picture and trying to understand the rationale behind another culture’s beliefs, their perspective becomes emotional, biased, and they tend to stonewall understanding.

TCKs, on the other hand, have learned how to monitor emotions about differing perspectives.

They are more adept at registering social cues and norms and more practiced at cultural sensitivity.

Just as they switch fluidly from one language to the next, they are able to fluidly adapt to behaviors of one culture or another.

To them, it is a way of life.

And this natural empathy allows them to be more understanding of YOU, the monkey, as you have “monkey moments” in a foreign culture.

In this way, they can help serve as a patient teacher between the two worlds, if you should be so lucky to secure their friendship.