Cultural IQ: The Key to Success in a Global Business Landscape

Executives from business and government organizations recently gathered in Louisville, Ky. for a leadership summit that explored the future of global education and business.

Diplomacy Begins Here was held to get young professionals geared up for the global business future ahead, which primarily focuses on diversity and inclusion of all kinds of different cultures, according to the Louisville Business Journal.

As Kirsten Hawley, Sr. Vice President of the Brown-Forman Corporation told the publication, she recently learned about the term, “cultural humility.”

“Cultural humility is about the willingness to suspend what we know, think we know, or assume we know about people who are different from ourselves,” Hawley said in her interview. “Are you as culturally humble as you need to be in today’s globalized world?”

To increase the effectiveness of its global leaders, Hawley said Brown-Forman focuses on inclusion, learning agility, resilience and emotional intelligence.

In other words, leaders must be quick on their feet to keep up with the fast growth and increasing influence of emerging markets and other shifts. People are continually changing the way they work to stay innovative, collaborative and effective as the business world expands to a global marketplace.

When it comes to incorporating a mix of cultures into the modern workforce, leaders must learn to embrace -- not only accept -- the perspectives, life experiences, unique skills and personal values of others. Strategy Execution, a global learning solutions organization focuses on extensive and holistic curriculum that allows learners to refine their soft skills, including cultural diversity.

There are a number of best practices and ideal ways to adapt to market changes, processes designed to help teams learn, and toolkits for innovation; all during a time when innovation, inclusion and change are critical in driving the business forward.

Success comes from the adoption of a new global perspective; getting out of your comfort zone and learning the business of different markets worldwide. By doing so, you’ll ramp up your cultural IQ - knowledge of cultural differences -- to most effectively use the differences to your business’s advantage and help your organization overcome global challenges.

So if today’s workforce is on the cusp of incorporating cultural IQ to better its business, how should cultural IQ be developed in order to help companies meet and overcome challenges that come with global expansion?

Join Amy Karam, Founder and Chief Instructor of the Global Business Innovation Academy, for a webcast sponsored by Strategy Execution to learn all about developing your organization’s cultural IQ for the emerging markets of today and tomorrow.

The webcast, “Develop Your Cultural IQ for a Globalized Business World” is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m. EST. Registration is free - claim your spot by registering online.