Persevere in cultural intelligence

Motivation, or drive, is necessary for the improvement of cultural intelligence (CQ).

The intangibles of cultural intelligence (CQ) are equally important as a leader develops their intercultural skills. Before knowledge becomes useful or intuition kicks in, a leader must have the motivation to take the often more challenging route to understand and accommodate another culture. Influence may be a leader’s reason, for a culturally adept person stands out in the new economy more than ever. Belief in the intrinsic value of human life in all its expressions may be another. Whatever the motivation, it must be strong enough to take a leader past cursory greetings and foreign airport layovers to genuine connection.

Livermore defines CQ drive as “the perseverance required when the novelty wears off and the differences start to chafe at us ({livermore-intelligence}, pg. 59).” This type of stick-with-it motivation is key for an entrepreneur who wants to launch a business in another culture at multiple stages. The motivation must be present for the leader to move overseas at all, then to learn the language and adapt to the culture, navigate the business setting, make connections with the local people, and to endure until a profitable business is established. Like foreign missionaries, a motivation deeper than the thrill of adventure or a taste for the food is required to remain more than a few months, and certainly more than two years.

At times my motivations are unclear, even to myself. While I possess a love for other cultures, less stable motivations also exist side-by-side. The excitement of a new adventure is attractive, but it will not last me over the two-year hump. Therefore, my application is to strengthen my bedrock motivations, the ones that are least likely to be affected by circumstances, so that they are more often at the forefront of my mind and decisions.

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