While it is important to learn as much about other cultures, it is also important to spend time getting to know what makes YOU tick.
Cultural values like time orientation, individualism-collectivism, power distance, being-doing, etc are a great lens with which to look at how a particular cultural might be different than our own. They can give a great starting point on how we might work with people form different cultures.
However, just because a person’s culture might have certain commons trends in values, it does not mean that person will necessarily hold those values strongly themselves.
For example, the US ranks high for Individuality, but not all US citizens are personally driven by a high value on Individuality. There are variations person to person.
That is why a CQ assessment with the individual’s orientation to key cultural values is can be so powerful. The assessment allows us to see how WE tick and why we might be reacting to different situations the way that we do.
Knowing how other cultures work is important, but let’s not forget to turn the lens inward and take a look at how we tick as well.
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