One of the best-known episodes of the US television show \u201cThe Office\u201d is called \u201cDiversity Day\u201d.\u00a0The setting is in a \u201ctypical\u201d American office workspace, where the staff has to attend a mandatory \u201cdiversity sensitivity\u201d event.\u00a0 Part of the reason that this episode is so memorable for people, is that the basic premise of enforced sensitivity training rings true.<\/p>\n
For Michael Scott, the clueless boss in the episode, he ends up inadvertently using racial\/ethnic stereotypes to insult and offend the people who are there.\u00a0 This is the vision that many people hold for what talking about \u201ccultural intelligence\u201d might mean.\u00a0 The question is asked: \u201cDo we really have to do this?\u201d<\/p>\n
In his book Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>, author David Livermore brings an impassioned presentation for why growing in \u201ccultural intelligence\u201d is so necessary and important in the increasingly interconnected world today.\u00a0 It goes far beyond attending a \u201cdiversity day\u201d event.<\/p>\n Livermore brings his topic to life by using real world examples from people he has met, along with his own personal stories of cultural missteps and mishaps, as well as insightful research.\u00a0 In laying out the \u201cwhy\u201d question, Livermore writes, \u201cAlthough most leaders readily acknowledge the multicultural landscape of today\u2019s leadership journey, many still view it as a \u2018nice-to-have\u2019 soft skill rather than a non-negotiable.\u201d<\/a>[1]\u00a0 This is a book that seeks to convince the reader not only of the importance of growing in cultural intelligence, but also to give applicable tools and ways of developing it.<\/p>\n Livermore defines cultural intelligence as, \u201cthe capability to function effectively across national, ethnic, and organizational cultures\u201d<\/a>[2], and he goes on to lay out the four \u201ccapabilities\u201d, including: drive (motivation), knowledge, strategy and action.\u00a0Since the idea of leading with cultural intelligence is closely related to my own research area, this is a book that immediately caught my attention.\u00a0 Of Livermore\u2019s four capabilities, I am most drawn to the first one, which is about \u201cdrive\u201d.<\/p>\n For the average business traveler who sees this book in the airport bookstore, or who has it recommended by a work colleague, Livermore\u2019s writing and perspective will make a lot of sense.\u00a0 However, in my context, which is also increasingly multicultural and interconnected with the wider world, there is much more resistance to reading a book like this, much less to enacting the practices that it describes.<\/p>\n Livermore states that \u201cone of the reasons diversity-training programs often fail\u201d<\/a>[3]is that people don\u2019t feel motivated by the experience.\u00a0 They don\u2019t see the benefit.\u00a0 It can feel like a requirement or even an implicit judgment of them as people.\u00a0 And this is a real challenge for working within a church, whether it is with staff or lay leaders, or just with members.\u00a0 As Livermore puts it, \u201cthere is a direct correlation between your level of motivation for adapting cross-culturally and your effectiveness.\u201d<\/a>[4]\u00a0 Simply put, unless this topic is approached in a careful and strategic way, people will reject it out of hand, or will do it out of obligation, with no real interest or attention.<\/p>\n This is the challenge that leaders will face in taking this information back to their teams or organizations.\u00a0 When I read Livermore\u2019s description of his own outlook, I see a lot of myself in him.\u00a0He writes, \u201cI\u2019m very energized by cross-cultural encounters.\u00a0 Put me in a room full of people and the internationals in the room draw me like a magnet\u2026 book me on an international flight and my adrenaline starts pumping\u2026 My international work has been well served by my insatiable wanderlust.\u201d<\/a>[5]\u00a0 However, many of those on my team or those who I hope to energize or train in my church, do not share this orientation toward cultural differences.<\/p>\n So, a big part of the work, is to frame the questions, and set up the context where people are interested enough, or invited in, or are woo\u2019d into being part of this conversation.\u00a0One review points out that Livermore \u201ccontends that cultural intelligence can be acquired through training and practical experience by anyone who perceives the need and is willing to learn.\u00a0 Therefore, he believes there is always room for improving upon one\u2019s ability to function across multicultural boundaries.\u201d<\/a>[6]<\/p>\n Indeed, Livermore writes, \u201cthe emphasis of cultural intelligence is that through learning and interventions everyone can become more culturally intelligent.\u201d<\/a>[7]\u00a0 When it comes to using this material with my own staff or leaders, this calls to mind what Samuel Chand has written in Leadership Pain<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cDo you want to be a better leader?\u00a0 Raise the threshold of your pain.\u00a0 Do you want your church to grow?\u00a0 Do you want your business to reach higher goals?\u00a0 Reluctance to face pain is your greatest limitation.\u00a0 There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain.\u201d<\/a>[8]<\/p>\n Livermore provides tools that are helpful for me personally as a leader, but also the means to build up and motivate the other leaders that I work with as well.\u00a0 Even those who are not \u201cnaturally\u201d interested in this topic, it is a growth area that may be painful, yet, is also necessary.<\/p>\n The good news, as one review points out, is that this is an exceedingly approachable and practical book.\u00a0The author, \u201cgives advice for how to develop cultural intelligence.\u00a0 He proposes that readers be sincere with themselves, evaluate their self-confidence, eat and socialize with people of different cultures, count the benefits of cultural intelligence\u2026\u201d<\/a>[9]These strategies are not only useful while in cross-cultural settings, but also in preparing for them, and encouraging leaders to try out new practices.<\/p>\n In all of this, I find a lot that will translate well back to my own setting.\u00a0 Rather than setting up a \u201cDiversity Day\u201d event, my hope is to use Livermore\u2019s material in a variety of settings, to weave it into the fabric of my community.<\/p>\n <\/a>[1]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), xiv.<\/p>\n <\/a>[2]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), 4.<\/p>\n <\/a>[3]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), 45.<\/p>\n <\/a>[4]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), 45.<\/p>\n <\/a>[5]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), 44.<\/p>\n <\/a>[6]Ugochukwu Elems, \u201cLeading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success,\u201d\u00a0Journal of Applied Christian Leadership<\/em>\u00a05, no. 1 (Spring, 2011): 103,\u00a0https:\/\/digitalcommons.andrews.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=jacl<\/a>\u00a0(accessed May 10, 2018).<\/p>\n <\/a>[7]David Livermore,\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Amacom, 2015), 37.<\/p>\n <\/a>[8]Samuel R. Chand,\u00a0Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015), 15.<\/p>\n <\/a>[9]Dr. Gloria J Miller, review of\u00a0Leading With Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success<\/em>, by David Livermore,\u00a0The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship<\/em>\u00a021, no. 1 (January 2016): 87,\u00a0https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/293637344_Book_Review_Leading_with_Cultural_Intelligence_The_Real_Secret_to_Success<\/a>(accessed May 10, 2018).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the best-known episodes of the US television show \u201cThe Office\u201d is called \u201cDiversity Day\u201d.\u00a0The setting is in a \u201ctypical\u201d American office workspace, where the staff has to attend a mandatory \u201cdiversity sensitivity\u201d event.\u00a0 Part of the reason that this episode is so memorable for people, is that the basic premise of enforced sensitivity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"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":[979],"class_list":["post-17520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-david-livermore","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520","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\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17520"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17521,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520\/revisions\/17521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}