What is cultural agility?

- Think of what it takes to rock climb. You can't just watch a video of someone else rock climbing and be great at it. You need the right equipment and some practice on how to use it. The same is true for building your cultural agility. The skill you'll need to work comfortably and effectively in different countries and with people from different cultures. To build this skill, you'll need some cross-cultural competencies. Some knowledge about cultures, and some experience working in other cultures and with people from different countries. Let's start by talking about cross-cultural competencies. Great global managers are comfortable with ambiguity. They're relaxed in situations that are unfamiliar. As novelty seekers they enjoy traveling to new places and trying new things. And when traveling to new places, they're curious to learn about people and cultures. When something goes wrong, they're resilient and they bounce back quickly. They can also foster relationships. When you connect with people from other cultures, you have the opportunity to learn about those cultures. Great global leaders also have humility. They know that no matter how brilliant they are in their field they won't be able to be effective unless they understand the culture they're in. Context matters. They're comfortable asking the question how can I be successful here. And when given an answer to that question, they appreciate that the answer might be different from what they're used to. So in a sense they're great at perspective taking. They can accept that someone has a different way of doing things and they can respect another person's approach and values. If you have developed these six cross-cultural competencies you have all the equipment you need and you'll be on your way to becoming a great global leader. If you want to learn more about cross-cultural competencies and how to develop them, please visit tascaglobal.com to take the cultural agility self-assessment. Remember though, even with these competencies you still need to learn about different cultures. If you know what to look for in another culture you're more likely to see it. This will be important as you start engaging with people from different cultures. If managing globally is new for you start by engaging a few colleagues to learn about their cultures. If you're a more seasoned global manager practice some of the skills in this course during your next international business trip or during your next global team meeting. We know from research and practice that all of these pieces matter. With the right cross-cultural competencies, knowledge and some experience, you have everything you need to become a great global leader.