Cultural Intelligence

Right now, vast amounts of time and money are being invested all round the world in building global brands and organizations. But where are the global leaders who will lead them? Leaders who can cross cultural boundaries: between east and west, and north and south; between faiths and beliefs; between public, private and voluntary sectors; and between the generations? Where are the leaders who can lead in what Julia calls the “magnet cities” of the world: where the world’s most talented young people will convene? Because these people will simply turn their backs on bosses who demand that their teams think and behave alike. The race is on to develop leaders with CQ, and this book is designed to give readers a decisive head start. In the process, Julia has spoken to leaders all round the world, and invited them to tell their own CQ stories: successful and disastrous, serious and funny, poignant, pragmatic and often highly personal. The result is surprising, challenging and frequently uncomfortable (there is no simplistic advice here about how to exchange business cards in the correct local manner). This second edition, revised and expanded in 2019, looks even further into the cultural collisions that can spark real innovation if the leader at the centre of them has CQ. How do you lead effectively when cultures collide within the team? And, even more intriguing, what do you do when cultures collide inside yourself? For this new edition, Julia has discussed these collisions with leaders of all generations, in countries all over the world. She shares experiences and insights that are painful, funny and wise. For anyone trying to lead across boundaries, this will be an indispensable companion.

Right now, vast amounts of time and money are being invested all round the world in building global brands and organizations. But where are the global leaders who will lead them? Leaders who can cross cultural boundaries: between east and west, and north and south; between faiths and beliefs; between public, private and voluntary sectors; and between the generations? Where are the leaders who can lead in what Julia calls the “magnet cities” of the world: where the world’s most talented young people will convene? Because these people will simply turn their backs on bosses who demand that their teams think and behave alike. The race is on to develop leaders with CQ, and this book is designed to give readers a decisive head start. In the process, Julia has spoken to leaders all round the world, and invited them to tell their own CQ stories: successful and disastrous, serious and funny, poignant, pragmatic and often highly personal. The result is surprising, challenging and frequently uncomfortable (there is no simplistic advice here about how to exchange business cards in the correct local manner). This second edition, revised and expanded in 2019, looks even further into the cultural collisions that can spark real innovation if the leader at the centre of them has CQ. How do you lead effectively when cultures collide within the team? And, even more intriguing, what do you do when cultures collide inside yourself? For this new edition, Julia has discussed these collisions with leaders of all generations, in countries all over the world. She shares experiences and insights that are painful, funny and wise. For anyone trying to lead across boundaries, this will be an indispensable companion.

What have international relations, mergers and cross-discipline innovation got in common? They share a dependence on the ability to create mutual understanding between people from different cultural backgrounds. As organisations become more global, and innovative development more urgent, developing the skills to get the best from difference becomes a necessity rather than an option. Cultural Intelligence (CI) is a progressive approach to thinking about culture that aims to provide the reader with a better understanding of what goes on when people with different cultural backgrounds meet, including the emotional drivers and irrational reactions. It introduces a way of thinking about culture as a dynamic and socially constructed phenomenon rather than a fixed set of rules, and suggests ways to benefit from cultural complexity using it as a resource and route to innovation. Cultural Intelligence is for leaders and specialists who have a commitment to bridging and benefiting from differences, and who are looking for alternatives to the traditional cultural concepts. This book gives an introduction to CI and to the dynamic approach to culture. It contains four themed chapters each of which provides an in-depth discussion of one cultural field. Cultural Intelligence contains numerous examples from the authors' teaching, research and consultancy work. It utilises experiences gained from work on the development of international groups from diversity projects, cross-disciplinary project management, mergers and other organisational developments. The book offers many ideas and methods on how to develop the cultural intelligence of an organisation.