Research Paper on Leadership-Cultural Intelligence

Introduction

While doing my research on the topic of leadership and cultural intelligence, I realized that leadership is a sensitive tool since leaders are given the responsibility to manage and lead people from different cultures who have varied belief, practices, interests, view among other qualities. Therefore, I need to have the ability to adapt to all these cultures so that my leadership can be termed as a success. To achieve this, as a leader I should be able to incorporate cultural intelligence in my leadership according to David Livermore and Soon (2015). The information from this evaluation will then be applied in assessing my leadership development in terms of cultural intelligence. Then I will provide a summary of important concepts I have learnt that can help me in my continued development to become a great leader in the rapidly globalizing world.

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Leadership and Its Function

From my understanding, leadership is the effort or being capable of leading people, a group, or an organization, leadership can also be described as direction, guidance, supervision, authority and control. The function of my leadership is to generate an inspiration into the future, motivate and stimulates people to believe in the vision of the organization while establishing stronger ties based on trust relationships to my people (Elems, 2011). Leadership also has distinguishing characteristics from the rest of the available personal characters. Therefore, being a leader I need to obtain the following characteristics; fairness, integrity, contribute and support accountability, recognizing everybody equally despite their cultural background, and most impotently try to get people to look beyond self-interest and value others who may have a varied view, beliefs or practices from mine.

Leadership Development

Leadership development as the undertaking that enhances the skills, abilities, and credence of leaders. Programs greatly differ in teaching. Coaching and mentoring are two disposition of development mostly used to pilot and evolve leaders. According to Gelineau Jr, (2015), leadership development is governed heavily by the standard of the program, a degree of assistance and approval from supervisors, and the characteristic of the individual being bloomed in order for it to be successful. Leadership development is a process in the sequential organization, which focuses to create first-class leaders to gain control over the chief position when they are on a vacation. Top performers are commonly classified for these leadership development programs and broader end-goals.

To asses leadership development I will apply the cultural intelligence (CQ) model with the aim of enabling me to think deeply about my cultural intelligence capabilities. As a leader, I must develop the correct leadership traits in line with cultural intelligence knowledge(cognitive), behavioural (such as stability, tolerance of other cultures), motivation, and metacognitive among other valuable and appropriate qualities needed for leadership based on cultural intelligence. Therefore, there are four elements of cultural intelligent assessment for global leadership development which include; Cultural intelligence Drive (Motivation), Knowledge (Cognitive), Strategy(Metacognitive) and Action (Behavior) (Livermore & Soon, 2015).

Culture And Leadership

According to my understanding, culture refers to unique ideas, beliefs, practices, customs, views as well as the social behaviour belonging to a particular society. I believe that culture is an important element that needs to be incorporated in my leadership since as a global leader I am given a responsibility to manage and direct individuals from different cultural backgrounds towards the realization of the goals of the organization. Therefore, I need to develop cultural intelligence to enable me to create and navigate culture since due to globalization, I have to deal with individuals from different cultures. Additionally, I must be able to develop a general perspective and range hence resulting in a more effective leadership without mastering a whole new culture (Livermore & Soon, 2015).

Cultural Intelligence

My cultural intelligence refers to my ability to function without difficulties across all cultures such as national, organizational, ethnic and other sorts of cultures. Cultural intelligence helps me to be able to develop an overall perspective as well as range hence resulting to a more effective leadership without having to master all the practices, norms and values of the various cultures that I encounter in my leadership (Livermore & Soon, 2015). The big question that has led to the development of cultural intelligent (CQ) is; Why do we have some leaders being able to easily and without even putting many efforts adopt to behaviours as well as cross-culturally while other leaders find it extremely difficult? Personally, this question can be a tool to evaluate myself and know if my leadership is a success or not in the rapidly globalizing world. The cultural intelligent model describes four main factors of cultural intelligence that will be used to determine my leadership development level that includes; Cognitive, Motivational, Behavioral and Metacognitive factors (Livermore & Soon, 2015).

The Need For Cultural Intelligence

Multicultural Workforce

Livermore and Soon, (2015) sentiments are that the task of managing and coping with a very diversified as well as a widely dispersed workforce locally and internationally is the major demand that is facing the modern global leaders. Therefore, as a global leader, I must be able to foster good communication and develop the ability to build trust which are the two important issues in leadership. Motivational approaches, human resource policies and the numerous performance reviews need to be outsourced from the different cultural groups that are represented in the team that was expected to lead. Most of the cultural preferences needed for effective leadership styles are related to the multicultural values that are embraced in by the organization's workforce. However, the challenge that I have experienced as a leader in the modern day's multicultural world is that of having team members from diverse places. The team members usually have totally different beliefs, practices, views, among other culturally defined aspects. These differences have always been a challenge towards the realization of my goals (Elems, 2011). However, in many occasions, as a global leader with cultural intelligence, I have managed my multicultural team to give my organization many benefits as problems or situations are tackled from different perspectives hence leading to the provision of multiple solutions to a single incident or problem. This also offers the incorporated proficiency for diverse markets and gives a readily available workforce when managed properly as well as offering some of the greatest potentials for innovation (Livermore & Soon, 2015).

Attraction And Retention Of Top Talent

To become a successful global leader, I need to integrate cultural intelligence in my leadership which is required to address the challenge encountered during recruiting, developing, improving and retaining the top talents in my organization. Leaders in the modern emerging economies have numerous options hence they are seeking firms and administrators who show culturally intelligent knowledge and practice (Livermore & Soon, 2015). Cultural intelligence is mainly important to those people who are sent on various international assignments, however, it is also significant to those operating locally as due to globalization, different cultures can now be experienced almost everywhere. Consequently, I believe that an organization that practices cultural intelligence is most likely to recruit as well as retain the talent that is needed to meet their demands.

Profitability And Cost Savings

I have come to learn that a global leader who is able to integrate cultural intelligence is able to reduce costs, increase profits and improve competences when selling and marketing goods and services in new markets. An expatriate who has cultural intelligence speeds up the new assignment given much more quickly leading to better use of costly expense that is incurred in sending talents overseas. The global expansion increased profits and competitive advantages are the reason behind why most leaders are striving to incorporate cultural intelligence in their leadership as well as the need to behave in a more respectful and humanizing manner with all the people they interact within their working environments. This is because cultural intelligence helps leaders to become compassionate and caring in how they see the world differently from other people from different cultures. Consequently, I need to develop various adaptations needed to ensure the people that I lead feel they are being treated fairly, with respect, dignity and honour. For this adaptability to be acquired and maintained, cultural intelligence is required. The desire, ability and need to relate effectively and be able to work across all cultures is an integral part of a leader's survival. Therefore, with cultural intelligence, global leaders are able to survive and thrive in the modern world (Livermore & Soon, 2015).

Assessment of Leadership Development

Motivational Cultural Intelligence (Drive)

What Is My Motivation For Intercultural Work And Relationships?

This capability evaluates my level of interest, confidence, energy and the drive to adapt to the concept of cross-cultural. Therefore, the question that I need to ask is that if I have the drive and confidence to face and address the conflicts and challenges that accompany cross-cultural work. Van Dyne, Ang and Livermore, (2010) agrees with the sentiments by Livermore and Soon, (2015) that cultural intelligence framework requires a leader to be engaged as well as persevere through the numerous challenges of cross-cultural intelligence. Motivational cultural intelligence can be classified into two; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Van Dyne et al. 2010). Intrinsic cultural intelligence motivation is the degree to which I derive great enjoyment and pleasure from the culturally diverse situations while extrinsic motivation is my drive towards more physical benefits from the culturally diverse situations and also self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief and confidence one has that he or she will be effective in most if not all cross-cultural encounters. As a global leader, I need to use this capability to examine and evaluate my level of drive for cultural intelligence. My motivational cultural intelligence is greatly related to my level of effectiveness in new cultural contexts to asses if I qualify to be global leaders. Using this capability, I have found out that I show a lot of interest and confidence in my attempts to adapt to all cultures. My motivation is that I need to be a global leader who is able to treat all cultures equally. To achieve this, I need to be able to adapt to those cultures without having to learn them or losing my identity so that I can be able to successfully serve globally.

Cognitive Cultural Intelligence (Knowledge)

To what extent and degree do I comprehend the main cultural differences?

This capability deals with my ability as a global leader to understand the culture, as well as the role that cultures play in shaping the way business, is done and how people interact with others across cultural contexts. My cognitive cultural intelligence or knowledge as a leader is based upon the degree or my level of understanding of the idea of culture and its influence in shaping my thinking capacity and direction as well as behavioural characteristics. The knowledge capability also includes the overall unders...