{"id":12939,"date":"2017-05-25T10:02:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T17:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=12939"},"modified":"2017-05-25T10:02:09","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T17:02:09","slug":"energized-by-cross-cultural-encounters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/energized-by-cross-cultural-encounters\/","title":{"rendered":"Energized by Cross-Cultural Encounters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe challenge for us as leaders is to see our existence not only in terms of our own interests but ultimately about things larger than us.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Of all the books we\u2019ve read so far, this book really rocked with me the most. David Livermore\u2019s\"\"<\/a> enthusiasm for his subject, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is very captivating. Because of past, present, and possible future relationships with people from other cultures, it resonates with me.<\/p>\n

Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em> was well-organized but not dry. Though the title seems to indicate that it was written for leaders, it is approachable by anyone with a desire to learn how to engage with other cultures. His principles on effective communication can be used in any cultural systems which are\u00a0– \u201cthe ways a society has organized itself in terms of meeting basic needs and the structures required for order.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

The heart of the book is the description of the 4 capabilities found in culturally intelligent leaders. He describes each one and gives engaging stories to illustrate how one can grasp the essential idea and put it into practice. He constantly reminds the reader that this is a learning and growing process.<\/p>\n

One starts by examining her motivation for adapting cross-culturally.\u00a0 Does she have the \u201clevel of confidence and motivation for this cross-cultural assignment? If it\u2019s lacking, what can I do to increase it?\u201d[3]<\/a> It seems obvious that a person must try and learn as much as possible about another culture. It would take years to become an expert in any culture so Dave asks, \u201cWhat cultural understanding do I need for this cross-cultural assignment?\u201d[4]<\/a> Dave teaches how to discern what cultural differences really matter. Then he discusses ten of the most important cultural value dimensions and helpfully \u201cclusters\u201d the various nations of the world into each dimension, with the caution that we do not stereotype people or assume that all nations are homogenous. Once we have motivation and some knowledge it is important to strategize. We should ask, \u201cWhat do I need to plan to do this cross-cultural assignment successfully?\u201d[5]<\/a> Here Dave stresses the importance of being aware<\/em> of what is going on around us. We should be able to step back and reflect. And again, it is important to keep in mind that one of the goals is to learn from what we observe and use it in the future when we plan our strategy. Finally, it is time to appropriately<\/em> change our verbal and nonverbal actions in order to accomplish our objectives when dealing with other cultures. Real discernment is needed here. We need to decide \u201cWhat behaviors should I adapt for this cross-cultural project?\u201d[6]<\/a> This is not easy. Too much adaptation can generate suspicion that we are phony. Not enough of course may signal arrogance or be insulting. The idea is to be thinking about the other person as well as my objectives. An underlying tenet of good manners is unselfishness.<\/p>\n

Learning about cultural norms is important so that we can treat people with respect. Learning the capabilities of CQ help us to do this while adapting our behavior to reach our objectives in cross-cultural encounters.<\/p>\n

And now, a word about why I think I resonated with this book so much. I suspected very early on that Dave is a Christian. I don\u2019t know why but I was sure when I read this quote:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very energized by cross-cultural encounters. Put me in a room full of people and the internationals in the room draw me like a magnet.\u201d[7]<\/a> This has been my experience my whole life from the time I hung around the missionary nuns in kindergarten at Regina Coeli Catholic School to adopting 4 international kids. God has just given me a heart this way.<\/p>\n

Once while working at a caf\u00e9 in Minneapolis many years ago a tall, scruffy, black dude walked in and ordered coffee. He tried to pay for it with 15 pennies. (Now you know how old I really am when coffee was 15 cents!) Anyway, others may have seen a greasy, tattooed, scary-looking black man. Translation in Mary\u2019s brain \u2013 \u201cThis looks like a guy that could use a job. We need a cook. Why don\u2019t I ask him?\u201d So, I did. Turns out he was just out of prison and no one would hire him. I asked him if he could cook. He said, \u201cYes. I have some experience.\u201d I asked, \u201cCan you start tomorrow?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019ll go get my parole officer.\u201d Jim turned out to be one of our best ever cooks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019m still not sure what God has for me in the future. I only know that reading all of the wonderful stories in this book makes me long for international travel especially with a purpose. For now, I think I will get and read one of Dave\u2019s other books, What Can I Do: Making a Global Difference Right Where You Are. <\/em>(published in 2011).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The other thing that made me curious about David Livermore was that I kept getting vibes all through the book that this guy\u2019s enthusiasm was born in genuine love for people. \u00a0I noticed that he lives in Grand Rapids. Our denomination\u2019s college \u2013 Calvin College \u2013 is there. Sure enough Dave graduated with a BS in Education in 1989 from Calvin. He went on to Cornerstone University, also a Christian school. He taught intercultural studies, was a youth director, and coordinator of Global Outreach. \u00a0One of his favorite authors is N.T. Wright. No wonder we jived!<\/p>\n

Why is this important to me? I really love reading books by people who are informed by their theology and know how to be salt and light in the culture without \u201cpreaching\u201d; They have a good Biblical worldview but don\u2019t \u2018Bible-pound\u2019. It is a skill that I am trying to learn and this book is a great example of leading and having influence in our global world.
\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> David Livermore. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success <\/em>(New York: American Management Association, 2015). 63.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid. 83.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid. 47.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid. 69.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid. 138.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid. 159.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid. 44.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe challenge for us as leaders is to see our existence not only in terms of our own interests but ultimately about things larger than us.\u201d[1] Of all the books we\u2019ve read so far, this book really rocked with me the most. David Livermore\u2019s enthusiasm for his subject, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is very captivating. Because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[945,979],"class_list":["post-12939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cq","tag-david-livermore","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12939"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12943,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12939\/revisions\/12943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}