With over 8 billion people living on this earth, there is easily an abundance of culture and tradition unknown to your average person. However, making efforts to become more culturally aware, especially in our world of increasing globalization, can very much supplement our career and character in positive ways.
In the world of international business, around half of overseas, cross-cultural assignments are deemed a failure. In fact, it’s been shown that language skills, specific cultural experiences, and cultural intelligence (deemed CQ in the business world) have direct relations with managerial performance in international business. An article from Forbes illustrates how higher CQ is correlated with having other strengths like observational and listening skills.
- https://bized.aacsb.edu/articles/2020/march/learning-other-cultures#:~:text=When%20students%E2%80%94or%20executives%E2%80%94get,%2C%20leaders%2C%20and%20international%20citizens.
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/mursalhedayat/2019/04/29/cultural-intelligence-is-a-competitive-advantage/?sh=69ca40e328f5
However cultural intelligence can impact more than just one’s performance in the workplace. Learning about various and new cultures at a young age has many important benefits. Kids form opinions at a young age, so being able to learn about different cultures and perspectives can have long-term effects on inclusivity, social skills, and open-mindedness.
There are many different ways to expand your cultural horizons. Through personal experience, I can say that doing what you enjoy (like sports, dance, or food) in a cultural light can help you learn more about a specific culture. However, the best way to learn about any culture is to talk to and befriend someone of it. Who knows, you might just learn more about yourself as well!
https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main
