Unit 7 Discussion Assignment
BUS 5211: Managing in the Global Economy, University of the People
As we have discussed in previous units, cultural intelligence contains four specific features: metacognitive and cognitive CQ (cognition), motivational CQ (motivation), and behavioral CQ (action).
- Discuss how these how features work together in conjunction with Authentic Leadership. From the perspective of a leader within your organization, focus on how each feature specifically interacts with cultural intelligence and authentic leadership.
- Global leaders need to be able to nimbly adapt to different situations, adjusting quickly. How does having high cultural intelligence allow a leader to adapt to novel situations?
Grade: 10/10 (499 words)
Before discussing this week's topic, I will describe the basic concepts of related topics. CQ stands for Cultural Intelligence Quotient, which means "ability to adapt to unfamiliar cultural settings successfully."Cultural intelligence(CQ) contains four specific features: metacognitive and cognitive CQ (cognition), motivational CQ (motivation), and behavioral CQ (action).
- Metacognition is the ability to control one's thinking processes through various strategies, such as organizing, monitoring, and adapting.
- Cognition is the ability to process information.
- Motivational CQ (Motivation) is linked to self-efficacy. Self-efficacy represents a perception of one's abilities to meet a goal one has set for oneself. People with higher self-efficacy are highly motivated and believe they can overcome obstacles, whether difficult or not. Self-efficacy determines how people think, feel, and behave in cultural situations. If people have a high level of self-efficacy, they are not afraid to take on cultural challenges.
- Behavioral CQ (action) is related to adaptation to new environments and changes in one's behavior. Adapting one's behaviors requires management of the internal change process and responses to it. To change one's behaviors, people must learn to change their minds. The methods require the ability to think culturally strategically and be mindful of own thoughts and behaviors. (Cultural intelligence for leaders, 2012)
Metacognitive, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ and behavioral CQ, and Authentic Leadership
Authentic leadership is composed of self-awareness, balanced processing, relational transparency, and an internalized moral/ethical perspective. According to Vogelgesang et al.(2019), the four components of an authentic leader can be broken down into cognitive, motivational, and active processes that work together with cultural intelligence, allowing a leader to attain morally grounded cultural adaptation while in a cross-cultural context. (Vogelgesang et al., 2009).
High cultural intelligence allows a leader to adapt to novel situations nimbly.
As described above, cultural intelligence refers to competence in metacognitive and cognitive CQ (cognition), motivational CQ (motivation), and behavioral CQ (action), and these features help leaders to change their behaviors and adapt to new environments. For example, balanced processing will increase the amount of information authentic leaders choose to receive from the environment.
Leaders who keep in mind that there are many valid perspectives in any situation will pay greater attention to the nuances of information they receive and process from the environment. Therefore, they have a broader set of data with many perspectives. Obtaining a variety of data from multiple perspectives can lead to data that is different from the culture the leaders are familiar with and can provide clues to making more objective and rational decisions. (Vogelgesang et al., 2009).
Conclusion
In this discussion, I explained that Cultural Intelligence comprises a necessary element for an Authentic Leader. Authentic leadership is composed of self-awareness, balanced processing, relational transparency, and an internalized moral/ethical perspective. These four components are backed up by cultural intelligence such as metacognitive and cognitive CQ, motivational CQ, and behavioral CQ. A leader with high cultural intelligence can adapt to novel situations promptly.
References
Cultural intelligence for leaders (v. 1.0). (2012, December 29). Lardbucket. Retrieved from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/cultural-intelligence-for-leaders.pdf
Vogelgesang, G., Clapp-Smith, R., & Palmer, N. (2009). The role of authentic leadership and cultural intelligence in Cross-Cultural Contexts: An objectivist perspective. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(2), 102-117. Retrieved from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/ijls/new/vol5iss2/IJLS_vol5_iss2_vogelgesang_authentic_leadership.pdf
