WHATS YOUR CQ STYLE?

Dr Payal Mehra
2020-21
 PROVINCIAL

ANALYST

NATURAL

AMBASSAD
OR

MIMIC

CHAMELEO
N
Cultural Intelligence Profiles

The A young engineer at Chevrolet’s truck

provincial can division received positive evaluations of
be quite effective his technical abilities as well as his
when working interpersonal skills. Soon he was asked
with people of to lead a team at Saturn, an autonomous
similar division of GM. He was not able to
background but adjust to Saturn’s highly participative
runs into trouble approach to teamwork—he mistakenly
when venturing assumed it would be as orderly and
farther afield. deferential as Chevy’s. Eventually, he
was sent back to Chevy’s truck division.
The Deirdre, for example, works as a broadcast
analyst methodic director for a London-based company. Her
ally deciphers a principal responsibility is negotiating contracts
foreign culture’s with broadcast media owners. In June 2002, her
rules and company decided that all units should adopt a
expectations by
single negotiating strategy, and it was Deirdre’s
resorting to a
variety of elaborate job to make sure this happened. Instead of
learning strategies. forcing a showdown with the managers who
The most common resisted, she held one-on-one meetings in which
form of analyst she probed their reasons for resisting, got them
realizes pretty
together to share ideas, and revised the
quickly he is in alien
territory but then negotiating strategy to incorporate approaches
ascertains, usually they had found successful. The revised strategy
in stages, the was more culturally flexible than the original
nature of the proposal—and the managers chose to
patterns at work
cooperate.
and how he should
interact with them.
 Donald, a brand manager for Unilever,
The commented, “As part of my job, I need to
natural relies judge people from a wide variety of cultural
entirely on his backgrounds and understand their needs
intuition rather quickly. When I come into a new situation, I
watch everyone for a few minutes and then
than on a
I get a general sense of what is going on
systematic and how I need to act. I’m not really sure
learning style. how I do it, but it seems to work.” When
He is rarely facing ambiguous multicultural situations
steered wrong that he must take control of, the natural may
by first falter because he has never had to
impressions. improvise learning strategies or cope with
feelings of disorientation.
The ambassador, like many political appointees,
may not know much about the culture he has just
entered, but he convincingly communicates his
certainty that he belongs there. His confidence is a
very powerful component of his cultural
intelligence. Some of it may be derived from
watching how other managers have succeeded in
comparable situations. The ambassador must
have the humility to know what he doesn’t know—
that is, to know how to avoid underestimating
cultural differences, even though doing so will
inflict a degree of discomfort.
The mimic has a Ming, a manager at the Shanghai
high degree of control regional power authority, relates, “When I
over his actions and deal with foreigners, I try to adopt their
behavior, if not a great style of speaking and interacting. I find
deal of insight into the that simple things like keeping the right
significance of the distance from the other person or making
cultural cues he picks
up. Mimicry definitely
eye contact or speaking English at a
puts hosts and guests speed that matches the other person’s
at ease, facilitates puts them at ease and makes it easier to
communication, and make a connection. This really makes a
builds trust. Mimicry is difference to newcomers to China
not, however, the same because they often are a bit threatened
as pure imitation, which
can be interpreted as
by the place.”
mocking.
The
chameleon possesses One of them is Nigel, a British entrepreneur who has
high levels of all three started businesses in Australia, France, and Germany.
CQ components and is The son of diplomats, Nigel grew up all over the world.
a very uncommon
Most of his childhood, however, was spent in Saudi
managerial type. He or
she even may be Arabia. After several successes of his own, some
mistaken for a native of venture capitalists asked him to represent them in
the country. More dealings with the founder of a money-losing Pakistani
important, chameleons start-up.
don’t generate any of
To the founder, his company existed chiefly to employ
the ripples that
unassimilated members of his extended family and, secondarily, the
foreigners inevitably citizens of Lahore. The VCs, naturally, had a different
do. Some are able to idea. They were tired of losses and wanted Nigel to
achieve results that persuade the founder to close down the business.
natives cannot, due to
their insider’s skills and
outsider’s perspective.