Acquiring cultural intelligence is an ongoing and interactive pursuit, so the learning process supporting that knowledge transfer should be, as well. Today’s smart organizations expect cross-cultural training to be interactive in the (literal or virtual) classroom and then continuous for each learner beyond the program. Tomorrow’s even smarter organizations will take the next step and make the continuous learning interactive, too.
By leveraging the process of social networking and critical thinking, organizations can formalize a method for continued guidance and support among coworkers, ongoing employee and team development, and metrics of an organization’s (or team’s or individual’s) evolving cultural intelligence.
HOW IT CAN BE DONE
Measure cultural intelligence? Yes, but we need to take a step back first. Here is an example of how the measurement (and the interactive continuous learning) can be done:
Let’s say an organization decides to roll out a course on “Building a Global Mindset.” First, that organization would need to do its homework, parsing out the particular skills associated with a global mindset that are most important to the company. For example, it may decide on empathetic listening, inclusiveness in discussions, mindfulness of time zones, awareness of holidays around the world, and demonstration of curiosity about others.
Next, the organization can get a baseline metric on learners’ competence in these areas. This is done by creating an online employee evaluation of the various skills to be measured in a 360- degree format, with employees completing the self-assessment before it is sent to colleagues (and managers and employees) for their assessment. The Best Practice Institute, an association of executives and leadership experts, does just this with a social collaboration platform called Skillrater, which employs a model called ARAD (appreciation, rating, advice, and discussion.) In the case of Skillrater, the employee selects the individuals he or she wants to complete the assessment.
Then, the results of the assessments are leveraged by both the “Building a Global Mindset” facilitator and the participants, potentially guiding the material and hopefully arming the learners with objectives and motivation going into the program.
During and after the program, employees restart the 360-degree process, first reassessing themselves and then asking for their stakeholders’ input.
The ratings serve as a metric to illustrate changes, and the descriptive feedback serves as a sustained learning tool for the participants. Those completing the ratings and providing that advice are benefiting, as is the organization, which is evolving to become a coaching culture.
THE NEW NORMAL
“This is the new performance appraisal— traditional performance appraisals are dead,” says Best Practice Institute President and CEO Louis Carter. “Companies are throwing away the yearly or quarterly performance appraisal (where they talk behind the backs of employees and then lay it on them once or twice a year) and replacing it with this tool and methodology, which gives the power to the employee to ask for feedback consistently—in an open and transparent manner backed by positive dialogue—and receive appreciation—which makes it less destructive and much more human. The employees who ask for the most feedback get noticed and get better over time. It then creates a culture of coaches to each other.”
Before, during, and after a program, participants continually should dialogue with each other so they can get better over time. After the “Building a Global Mindset” program is complete and an employee has received post-program feedback, the process continues. The advice piece of the assessment may lead the participant to seek out a new course on communicating with people from a specific culture. That course comes with a new 360-degree assessment for completion before and after that course, and the cycle begins again.
Neal Goodman, Ph.D., is president of Global Dynamics, Inc., a training and development firm specializing in globalization, cultural intelligence, effective virtual workplaces, and diversity and inclusion. He can be reached at 305.682.7883 and at ngoodman@globaldynamics.com. For more information, visit www.global-dynamics.com.