Intercultural Competence: Achieving Elements of Skill

Earlier themes in this “Intercultural Competence in the Workplace” series have addressed self-development, understanding context, connecting emotionally and assessing behavior in context. These essential connectors, through the synergy of awareness and practice, catapult one’s mindset to the level of skill—the fifth and final theme. This element is about action—applying the constituent components that inform, support and develop intercultural competence.

The model below represents the five essential themes reflected in the Intercultural Competence series. These elements respond to challenge, promote development and contribute to skill and knowledge, continually circling back, evolving and informing each other. This synergy supports and builds intercultural competence—and, at the same time, opens the way to increased learning and sensitivity.

Most skill building is specific to one’s role within an organization and—whether working domestically or abroad—hinges on organizational culture and ways in which one approaches context within the organizational setting. Ultimately, skill building is about the ability to size up whatever situation we are in and quickly assess and diffuse whatever challenges arise. For purposes of this series, skill building naturally falls into two dimensions: perspectives on intercultural skill and sources of intercultural skill building.

Perspectives on intercultural skill

Ask yourself, “How does intercultural competence inform my work?” This question will tease out the situational challenges you face related to culture in your daily interactions. An important part of intercultural skill is recognizing a situation when people are in the thick of issues and identifying ways to bring those issues to the fore. It requires creating safe space while recognizing and acknowledging feelings about difference. Skill is looking at ways to manage the difference to be more effective, as a team member or as a group. Intercultural skill is built over time, along with the ability to identify cultural nuances. Intercultural knowledge is especially necessary to maintain openness despite uncertainty in challenging cultural situations. One of the key components of intercultural competence is the ability to be present in the moment when defense reactions are triggered as a result of unknown circumstances, unknown actions, and behaviors that can’t be interpreted.

Sources of skill building

Resources for building intercultural skills are readily available—models, books, workshops, in-house and online training—and strong feelings exist regarding the applicability of certain tools within the context of a workplace. In the end, however, it’s all about your mindset—how you work with and treat people. Are you culturally curious? Do you have an open mind? Are you willing to look through a lens other than your own? In his 2004 book, Presence, Peter Senge describes the moment when his own approach shifted from having to be in control to simply receiving. Since this idea of presence was introduced in 2004, the term has moved into the nomenclature of corporate environments and in popular culture in the notion of “mindfulness.” I’ll close the series with one final question: Are you “present” when dealing with intercultural challenges?

For the entire series of Intercultural Competence in the Workplace, visit “Leadership in a Cross-Cultural World: A Crowd-Sourced Blog” link to the blog and offer your insights. The following question was recently posted:

What are some of the skills and strategies necessary to integrate as a leader in a foreign country?