week 8 book app 3

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY

Book Application Paper 3

Submitted to Dr. Kenneth Nehrbass,

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of

GLST 650 – D04

Intercultural Communication and Engagement

by

Mawufemor Biekro

May 16, 2018

Overview

The book, Leading With Cultural Intelligence, talks about how cultural intelligence or CQ can help us to become better leaders and communicate the word of God more effectively. According to Livermore, cultural intelligence is the capability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations. The book identifies four components or capabilities of cultural intelligence. The first one is CQ Drive. This means having the interest, confidence, and drive to adapt cross-culturally. CQ knowledge is the second capability. It means understanding intercultural norms and differences. The third capability is CQ strategy, which means making sense of culturally diverse experiences and planning accordingly. CQ action is the fourth capability of cultural intelligence. It is behavioral in nature and it means changing verbal and nonverbal actions appropriately when interacting cross-culturally. Livermore also established the fact that there is a correlation between personality traits and cultural intelligence. Our personality traits can influence or enhance our development in the four capabilities of CQ. Not only does cultural intelligence help in our intercultural adjustment, but it also helps our judgment and decision making.

Content reference 1 – Power Distance

One of the four capabilities of cultural intelligence is CQ knowledge, which refers to our level of understanding about culture and the ways cultures differ. One of the ways that culture differ is power distance. According to Livermore, “Power distance refers to the amount of distance that is expected between leaders and followers”. He goes on to explain that cultures of Eastern countries from Asia and Africa score high in power distance and they offer a great deal of formal respect to leaders. On the other hand, Western cultures from some parts of Europe and the United States score low in power distance.

One of the ways I can apply the principle of power distance to my ministry is to adopt a low power distance strategy when dealing with my supervisor who is the senior pastor of my church. Because I was born in Ghana, a high-power distance culture, I sometimes find it difficult to express my views and opinion, and give suggestions to my supervisor because in my culture, you are not allowed to question or advice your superior. What I will do differently from now going forward is that I will express my opinion in a respectful way and make suggestions especially if I think it may benefit the church.

Content reference 2 – Cooperative vs. Competitive

Livermore explains that cultures from cooperative orientation get things done by nurturing and supporting one another while cultures from the competitive orientation are more focused on competition and achievements. He writes “Cultures that are more oriented around the cooperative orientation emphasize nurturing, supportive relationships as a better way of getting things done. In contrast, individuals and cultures more oriented towards the competitive orientation are more focused on achievements, success, and competition to accomplish results”.

I can apply the concept of cooperative vs. competitive to my current ministry. When I teach the youth group at my church on Sundays, I incorporate exercises and activities into the Bible teachings. I have come to realize that most of the activities I have them do are more individualistic and competitive in nature and less cooperative. Because our church is very having activities that cause them to compete against each other like sports games, I will also have the do

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1 David A Livermore. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: (Amacom, 2015).

culturally diverse, I will make sure that they perform activities that are both cooperative and competitive in nature so that everyone will be comfortable participating. For example, instead of

things that require the entire team’s collaborative efforts such as solving a puzzle together as a team.

Content reference 3 – Nonverbal Actions

Nonverbal communication or action is part of CQ action. Livermore explains that words and delivery are an important part of our communication but as much and possibly more of our communication is done through nonverbal behaviors. Harper, in her video presentation, says, “Nonverbal cues constitute a major portion of our communication”. Some of the ways cultures affect nonverbal behaviors include distance, touching, body position, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.

One of the ways I can apply nonverbal actions to my current ministry is by using distance appropriately. Different cultures have different distance preference when interacting with other people, therefore I will use my cultural intelligence to identify the distances preference for the people I interact with and avoid making people uncomfortable. I personally love to hug people because it is part of our culture in Ghana. One Sunday at church, I hugged a Caucasian gentleman called Rob and I noticed that he became a little uncomfortable when I hugged him. He was disengaged, and I could tell I had violet his personal space. Equipped with the knowledge I gained after reading Leading with Cultural Intelligence, I will do things differently. From now onwards, I will avoid initiating a hug and allow the other person to initiate it. Another thing I will do differently is to reduce direct eye contact with people from cultures who avoid eye contact and have an eye contact with people from cultures who make eye contact when communicating.

Content reference 4 – Word usage

Word usage is an important aspect of cultural intelligence. Livermore writes, “The very words that create vision and expectation in one cultural context can elicit distrust and suspicion in another”. For this reason, require cultural intelligence for us to make sure that we are using the right words in the right context. Livermore identified wrote that word usage includes topics, requests, apologies, and compliments.

One of the ways I can apply this to my current ministry is to change the way I give and receive compliments. For example, as the assistant youth pastor for my church, I have received several compliments from the senior pastor for my dedication and successful implementation of programs in the youth department. I have always deflected the compliments instead of acknowledging them because I come from a culture where acknowledging compliment is considered prideful. Livermore explains why it is best to acknowledge compliments in Western cultures. He writes, “In many western cultures, It’s largely agreed that the best way to respond to compliment is simply to accept it”. When giving or receiving a compliment, I will first determine the cultural background of the person I am interacting with and decide how to handle the compliment.

Content reference 5 – Communication: Direct or indirect

Most cultures from Africa and Asia rely on indirect communication while Western cultures from the United States and Europe rely on direct communication. I am from a culture Livermore, I learned that I must consider the cultural background of my audience in order to determine which communication style to use.

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2 Livermore, 160.

Since the majority of the group members of my church are Americans, I will use direct communication when addressing the entire group and use either direct or indirect when talking to different individuals. I will use my cultural intelligence to determine whether to use direct or indirect communication when interacting with individuals.

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3 Livermore, 166.

Bibliography

Harper, Melody. 2018. “Nonverbal Communication” (video). Lecture, Liberty University,

Lynchburg, VA, Accessed May 17, 2018.

https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_4180441&content_id=_21852389_1

Livermore, David A. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success Ed. 2.

Amacom, 2015.

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