The Modern HR Leader’s Cultural Intelligence Toolkit: 3 Essential Skills

Partner blog: Berlitz

‍“He is so disrespectful of my time. Always late!”

“She does not seem at all interested in getting to know me!”

“We keep going around in circles!”

“They are so rude!”

Hilma, head of HR in a global organization, is at a loss. She thinks she knows her team members. Surely none of them intentionally want to annoy a colleague, disrespect boundaries or behave rudely. She herself at least tries to strive for clear and direct communication so everyone knows what is expected. Yet, here we are. Various team members come to her office on a daily basis with a new grievance or frustration. There has even been tears during some of her feedback sessions. Hilma knows something needs to be done, but she is unsure where to start. There is limited time, strict deadlines, budget constraints... Perhaps things will just smooth out on their own...

Misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Hilmas team challenges are not unusual. Such misunderstandings can undermine trust, cooperation, decision-making and performance. If leaders lack the competence to deal appropriately with such situations, capable employees may leave.

Cultural Intelligence (CQ)- the ability to function well in culturally diverse settings- is a skill that is becoming increasingly important to the modern leader. CQ is more than cultural awareness. It is more than a skill. Cultural intelligence is a strategy in recruitment, leadership development, onboarding and training. CQ involves recognizing differences, interpreting unfamiliar cues and adapting your approach to more effectively communicate, collaborate and lead. CQ ultimately influences how things are communicated, how decisions are made and how trust is built in your team.

HR CQ check no 1:

How am I speaking to my team?

It is easy to assume that your own preferred communication style will work with everyone- it works for you, right? This often creates tension between direct communication styles (straight and to the point) which may be perceived as aggressive and indirect communication styles (evasive) that may be interpreted as unclear or abstract.

This kind of communication style gap may lead to misinterpreted feedback, misunderstandings, delayed decisions and frustration within a team or among colleagues.

Cultural Skill no 1:

Style switching

Cultural Intelligence means knowing that how something is said is just as important as what is said. As a culturally intelligent leader, you can style switch, adjusting your behavior and communication style based on the situation and the context you are in. This way you can pay attention to communication nuances and adapt the way you communicate, without imposing your own preferred behavior on your team members.

CQ check no 2:

What is prioritized? Getting the task done, or building relationships?

Cultural intelligence is about understanding that there are different priorities within a team, depending on what cultural preferences dominate among its members. Some team members may be task oriented and focus on getting things done. Others may be more relationship driven, prioritizing building consensus and getting to know each other.

Understanding your team and their varied cultural preferences will be an important part of team building and will ultimately make working together that much smoother in the long run.

Cultural Skill no 2:

Cultural Dialogue

This means communication on a deeper level. It means sitting down with your team and starting to explore cultural preferences in conversation. It can be as simple as just asking the question- How do you prefer to work? and listening to the answer with an open mind. It also involves opening up your own preferred way of working and communicating and the reason behind it. The goal here is not to win, but to listen and find a workable solution going forward.

If you have a common language to talk about difference, you can have neutral and non-judgmental conversations about cultural preferences that create genuine understanding among the team members. Once you understand each other better, you can minimize unnecessary conflict. You can talk before there is an issue.

CQ check 3:

Am I aware of my personal values?

Think of a saying or proverb you grew up with, something you live by now. Can you recognize some strong values from your childhood, that still affect your behavior today?

Personal values are formed during our early years and drive our behavior- they form the story we create in our heads to make sense of our world and our surroundings. Cultural Intelligence starts with self-awareness. If you are unaware of your own values and where they started, you can more easily misunderstand and form negative judgments of observed behavior that does not “fit” within your own frame of reference.

It is a common human tendency to label things outside our personal cultural comfort zone as “odd” or “wrong”. CQ means knowing that there are alternative views of the same thing. That your truth is only yours. Not necessarily anybody elses.

Cultural skill no 3:

Cultural mentoring

Attend intercultural trainings to learn about your cultural preferences and what cultural intelligence means. Then coach and train others in your team on cultural differences and how to overcome them in the workplace. Work on identifying personal values, and how they align with the work that you do. Teach your team members to keep an open mind, to stay curious and observant and encourage diverse viewpoints over consensus. It is ultimately a win-win. High-CQ teams tend to have stronger communication, collaboration, inclusion, innovation and employee engagement overall. A great starting point to build awareness around personal cultural preferences, is the Berlitz training tool, The Cultural Navigator. Free license below!

In conclusion...

Cultural Intelligence is a must have strategy, that will enhance communication, trust,  inclusion, diversity, innovation and employee engagement in your team, while at the same time improving corporate resilience and competitiveness on the global market.

You as an HR leader can build Cultural Intelligence in your organizations through intercultural trainings, language trainings and most importantly, through your active leadership. CQ will pay off in the long run. Your people will feel seen, heard, valued and included.

To get your free Cultural Navigator trial license, click here.

To chat with Berlitz about what we can do for your teams, either in cultural intelligence or language training, get in touch here: Book time with Niilo Vesanen (niilo.vesanen@berlitz.fi)

‍Writer Karolina Sveiby, Country Manager, Berlitz. She is a professional in the fields of learning and development, corporate training and intercultural communication. She has over 25 years of experience spanning the educational, corporate training, and creative industries. She currently works as the Country Manager of Instruction (Finland/Norway/Latvia) and Team lead, Intercultural Trainings, at Berlitz- a globally recognized, centuries-old language and cultural training provider.

Karolinas expertise includes managing international teams, designing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEIB) coaching, leading cultural workshops, and building business-focused Cultural Intelligence (CQ). She is regularly booked as an expert trainer and speaker for companies and established corporate networks, such as the HR Executive Nordics.