Canadians are leaders in cultural intelligence

First there was IQ - intelligence quotient. Then there was EQ - emotional intelligence (the ability to monitor and be guided by one's own and others' emotions).

Now there's a new kind of intelligence that is increasingly indispensable in today's global village.

CQ - cultural intelligence - is a must-have skill, not just for foreign diplomats but also for businesspeople, publicsector workers, military personnel and just about everyone in multicultural societies.

And Canadians score more highly in it than people in the United States, United Kingdom and France, according to a recent study.

CQ is a heightened awareness of cultures - including one's own - that makes a person more sensitive to people from diverse origins. It implies having a broad knowledge of customs and beliefs among different nationalities, ethnic groups and faiths. It also reflects a person's motivation to overcome cultural barriers, and confidence in one's ability to communicate with people from different cultures.

In an era of conflicts some attribute to a clash of civilizations between secular Western values and Islamic fundamentalism, CQ holds out hope for dialogue and mutual respect.

"It's a person's ability to look at and conceive of a situation from different angles," said Daniel Lagacé-Roy, a professor of ethics in the department of Military Psychology and Leadership at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., where future officers receive training in CQ.

For example, rather than making value judgments about how a particular culture treats women, someone with high CQ would try to understand local traditions, Lagacé-Roy said. That does not imply giving up one's own values; it simply means showing respect for people in other cultures, he said. "The purpose is to create common ground," he said.

That skill is important whether in war-torn countries like Afghanistan or on the home front, Lagacé-Roy said. A 2009 guidebook on cultural intelligence for the Canadian Forces suggests the 1990 Oka Crisis might have left a less bitter taste if military personnel had received CQ training. Military and police commanders refused to negotiate with Mohawk women because they did not understand their role in tribal leadership or realize the Mohawks had no single leader. Since then, the armed forces have introduced training in aboriginal culture and established links with First Nations communities.

Canadians showed the highest CQ in a survey of four countries by the Association for Canadian Studies.

Four out of 10 Canadians strongly agreed with the statement: "I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures," compared with 37 per cent of Americans, 24 per cent of Britons and 30 per cent of French respondents.

Just over half of Canadians and Americans somewhat agreed with the statement, while about 58 per cent of Britons and French people somewhat agreed.

Sixteen per cent of Canadians strongly agreed that: "I have a good knowledge of the cultural values and religious beliefs of some other cultures," compared with 13 per cent of Americans, nine per cent of Britons and five per cent of French respondents. More than half of people in Canada, the U.S. and Britain somewhat agreed with the statement, while only 39 per cent of people in France somewhat agreed.