PART II

STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR CQ

The next four chapters are devoted to helping you improve in each of the four capabilities of CQ. You may want to read straight through this section, or it might be more helpful for you to just read the introductory material for each chapter and then focus on the list of strategies that accompany the capability where you want to begin work. Then you can come back to another list of strategies when you’re ready to work on a different capability. Do what helps you most.

Several of the strategies that enhance CQ stem from things you already do in other parts of your life (e.g., setting goals, creating space for physical and emotional health, making checklists). Becoming more culturally intelligent doesn’t mean you have to take on a whole new set of responsibilities. But it does require some intentionality to use these tools to strengthen your cross-cultural effectiveness. These strategies have been researched and tested academically.

There’s also a story running through these chapters to demonstrate how CQ or the lack thereof shows up in real life. Like all of us, the characters demonstrate some strengths and weaknesses in their cross-cultural perspectives and interactions. I’ll offer some commentary along the way about how the four CQ capabilities relate to the various individuals and events in the narrative.