Pest...Pet...or Appetiser?

You will have seen them at international airports: posters advertising HSBC that show a grasshopper and the message “USA—Pest. China—Pet. Northern Thailand—Appetiser.

I recently had the pleasure of delivering a session on Cultural Intelligence to a new company. It really got me thinking about how even something as simple as an insect can be perceived in so many different ways. I believe it is the power of culture that makes this so.

Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to ‘a person’s capability to function effectively in culturally diverse contexts’ (Ang and Van Dyne, 2008; Earley and Ang, 2003). If we are to live and work with a variety of cultures, developing our CQ is a must. A person with high levels of cultural intelligence is able to work out which features of a person or group’s ways of thinking or behaving are individual to that person or group, and which are likely to be true of all people in that group. It requires learning, practice, curiosity and a certain level of perceptiveness.

An HBR article talks about CQ involving these three aspects:  Head: Observing and learning about your own and other cultures and understanding cultural diversityBody: Shaping your demeanour and actions to adapt to other cultures through body language, gestures and etiquetteHeart: Having the motivation and confidence to interact with other cultures and not being afraid to make mistakes

I have been reflecting on how well developed these three aspects were in me when I lived in Japan in my early 20s. Things like bowing and taking off my shoes felt a bit uncomfortable at first. Of course, language can be a barrier and making an effort to learn even the basics can go a long way. But using our heads, bodies and hearts can really help us to integrate better in social and professional situations.

If you want to do a quick assessment of your levels of CQ, you can find one here in this article: Cultural Intelligence (hbr.org)