Cultural Intelligence, or CQ, is the capability to function effectively across national, ethnic,
and organizational cultures1. The concept of Cultural Intelligence is extremely relevant to me in
my life because it allows me to function effectively in different cultural contexts. The four CQ
capabilities, can help me with any intercultural situation. The four CQ Capabilities are CQ Drive,
CQ Knowledge, CQ Action, CQ Strategy. After I graduate Liberty University here in Lynchburg,
Virginia I am hoping to go into the missions field. I feel called to go out and work towards
fulfilling the Great Commission. If I end up going into missions, then I will need to have a very
strong CQ. I will need to be able to adequately interact with all the people in the many different
cultures. The transition from the culture of America to the culture of the new country God leads
me to will be very hard but with a strong Cultural Intelligence I will be able to quickly adapt. I
am hoping to work in an orphanage helping youth in a third world country. The country that I
feel the most drawn to for my future mission work is Kenya and although the culture there has
assimilated into a more Western culture there are still many differences than in America. In
certain parts of Kenya the women are expected to wear modest clothing such as long skirts and
dresses and the men wear clothes that they can work in. Dance is also a huge part of their culture.
I’m not very good at dancing or stepping out of my comfort zone but if I live there, I’ll need to
learn to do both. Kenya is home to 42 different ethnic groups and each are unique in their own
way. So, there are lots of different practices and customs that I will need to gain knowledge about
in order to fit in and interact there. In Kenya there is an orphanage called Naomi’s Village. The
culture there is very light and happy and the people working in the orphanage have very strong
CQs. They learned as much as possible about the culture in order to take the best care of the
youth as possible.
1 “Chapter 1.” Leading with Cultural Intelligence the Real Secret to Success, by David A. Livermore,
American Management Association, 2015, pp. 4.
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The Cultural Assessment is a feedback report that identifies a person’s strengths and how
they can function effectively in a multicultural situation. Based on my Cultural Intelligence
Assessment and my own personal reflection out of the Four CQ Capabilities my strongest
capability is my CQ Drive. My CQ Drive is the extent to which I am able to approach
multicultural situations. It also has to do with my self confidence in my own abilities to interact
with other cultures and learn to fit in. With a strong CQ Drive I am able to work well and handle
multicultural situations well. The sub-dimensions for CQ Drive are intrinsic interest, extrinsic
interest, and self-efficacy. I am at a moderate level for my CQ Drive. Although I have confidence
in my ability to assimilate to other cultures, I still haven’t learned to completely step out of my
comfort zone. My next highest capability was CQ Strategy. CQ Strategy is the degree to which I
am mindful of when it comes to multicultural situations. It also has to do with how much I check
and plan with other cultures and strategize before a diverse encounter. The sub-dimensions are
planning, awareness, and checking. I have a moderate level for my CQ Strategy. I need to work
on being considerate of other cultures. My third highest was CQ Action. CQ Action is how I act
when I am in a multicultural situation. It deals with whether I am able to have verbal and
nonverbal conversations with someone that has a different language or culture. Different cultures
have different ways of talking and acting when face to face with a person. The sub-dimensions
are speech acts, verbal, and nonverbal. My CQ Action is also at a moderate level. Finally, the CQ
capability that I need the most work on is CQ Knowledge. CQ Knowledge is the extent that I
know about the influences of culture on how others think and behave. It also has to deal with
how familiar I am with the similarities and differences of other cultures. The sub-dimensions are
business, values and norms, socio-linguistic, and leadership. For my CQ Knowledge I need to
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look into the different cultures more and do much more research. I know very little about other
cultures and this is something I need to change in order to strengthen and further my CQ.
After taking this course my knowledge of Cultural Intelligence has become much greater
than it was before. Before this class I had never realized just how crucial it was to understand the
importance of culture in the lives of other people and how amazing it is to take in their culture
for myself. This course has pushed me to want to go out and learn all about other cultures all
over the world and be able to experience as many as possible for myself. A person’s culture is a
huge part of who they are. It is how they are raised and it is what makes up their core beliefs and
values. Understanding the culture of another person in their youth is so important because it’ll
make them feel much more appreciated and comfortable while getting to know them. Without a
strong CQ the other person may not feel as important or understood as they would if you had
made an effort beforehand to understand their culture. They may take things that are said the
wring way simply because of the differences in cultural norms and cues. I used to believe that I
didn’t need a strong CQ. I thought that I just needed to go straight into the other culture without
researching and learn as I go. This class showed me that it’s very important to have an
understanding of another culture before I experience it. If I don’t look into a culture beforehand,
I will have a very difficult time connecting with and understanding the culture I am trying to
interact with. The process of gaining knowledge about it will be much harder. If I research before
I go I will be able interact with the people better from the start rather than later.
There are so many ways that I can increase my Cultural Intelligence while I am still here in
Lynchburg. My CQ is at such a low level as I’ve only just started learning about other cultures.
One way that I can strengthen my CQ is by attending more multicultural events. There is so
much Liberty University has to offer and so many opportunities to meet people with different
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cultures than I have. From Global Focus week to joining clubs the opportunities to meet youth
from other cultures seems to be endless. I would like to attend more of the global studies events
while I’m here in order to hear more stories about other people’s mission work and the cultures
they’ve experienced. I would also like to hear the stories of the people who transferred here from
other countries. Simply talking to other students here can further my CQ knowledge by so much.
Through my classes and joining clubs I have already met so many people with different cultures.
Some of my good friends that I’ve made here come from different backgrounds than mine and
have strengthened my CQ. A few are students that are from different countries and are only in
America to attend Liberty University. Life for them here in America is very different and I would
like to learn more about how and why it is. I would also like to go to downtown Lynchburg in
order to meet more people living there. There always seems to be something going on and I think
meeting youth outside of Liberty University, maybe even at other colleges, will be an amazing
way to strengthen my CQ. There is so much that I can experience to strengthen my CQ off
campus so while in Lynchburg I would like to look into these experiences.
Cultural Intelligence is an essential part of the process of becoming a disciple and in
making disciples in both the US and throughout the whole word. With a strong CQ a person can
relate to other youths with different backgrounds than their own. They are able to connect more
and then have a better chance of spreading the word. All believers together make the church of
Christ. We are the church. In order to come together like that we need to take in and understand
other people’s culture as our own. This unites us and makes us a better disciple and follower of
Christ. This is the same both in the US and throughout the rest of the world. If people want to
come together in Christ, they need to have a strong CQ and understand one another. Youth will
respond better to a person who is trying to understand them. Among the youth in the US it’s
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important to have a strong CQ because it’ll help the youth respond better to the person trying to
spread the word to them. There are so many different cultures in the US and having an
understanding of as many as possible is very important. If a person doesn’t know how to
communicate to someone with a different culture, then how are they supposed to share the word
with them? It is the same for among the youth of the world. The culture of the youth in different
countries is so different than that of the US. Before going and spreading the gospel to the youth
for another country it’s very important to gain CQ of their culture. Without it a person won’t be
able to connect and talk to the other people.
With a strong CQ I will be much better equipped for life oversees. I will be prepared for
any new cultural experiences that I have and will be able to further my CQ knowledge far
beyond what I can imagine now. If I strengthen my CQ I may be able to help my friends who
don’t know much about other cultures. When we are in our own culture surrounded by what were
familiar with, we are able to have a good idea of what’s going on. We understand the information
being presented to us. When we are intermingling with people who have very different cultures
than us this will change everything. We no longer have an abundance of knowledge about what’s
going on. This is why it is important to further your CQ before interacting with other cultures.
Different cultures have different cues and if you already know this and what the differences are,
your interaction with other people will be much better. Having a strong CQ is very important in
everyday life whether living in the US or in another country.
Works Cited
“Leading with Cultural Intelligence the Real Secret to Success.” Leading with Cultural
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