Cross-Cultural Intelligence: How do you engage with someone that’s different?
Cross-Cultural Intelligence (CCI) involves being knowledgeable about one’s own ethnic and cultural background, as well as other groups of people in our larger communities. With this understanding, one may be better able to cultivate, as well as demonstrate, compassion and acceptance of others with whom we want to engage. CCI is a cornerstone for building trust between people who may have opposing worldviews, differing experiences with mainstream culture, and turbulent political realities. Implied in this definition is the ability to analyze one’s own historical context, while identifying the prevailing attitudes that have shaped power relationships between groups. People with high Cross-Cultural Intelligence often have the superordinate goal of acknowledging their affinity groups’ past atrocities, and are committed to moving beyond simple explanations about racism. They reflect on their behavor toward others in marginalized groups and seek to understand more complex issues like Critical Race Theory. In other words, Cross-Cultural Intelligence is more than learning about one dimensional racism.