Put your finger on the differences

Looking beyond our cultural biases and away from externalities leads us to cultural literacy

 
Our  globalised, multicultural world requires leaders with a keen understanding of national cultures. By learning from other countries, culturally literate leaders build cultural bridges, enabling them to leverage culture as a tool for competitive advantage,” writes Robert Rosen in Global Literacies: Lesson on Business Leadership and National Cultures (Simon & Schuster, 2000). Realising the value of cultural differences is a key component of emotional intelligence and absolutely essential for leading in today’s global environment. Technology enables cross-global communication and makes working across time zones, geographies and nationalities a given. Leaders need to be educated about cultures to lead effectively and to take full advantage of the value diversity provides. Today, being cross-culturally literate is essential in order to succeed in the global marketplace in which we do business. But what is cross-cultural literacy, and how do we achieve it?

Deborah J. Barrett

Deborah J. Barrett is professor of the practice of professional communication and director of the programme for communication excellence at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA, where she directs a university-wide communication programme and teaches leadership communication, cross-cultural communication, negotiations and consulting to undergraduates.