In May this year, His Excellency the President, Dr Hage Geingob, during the opening of the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) congress made the following remarks: “You young people are racist and tribalist. Youth must unite in their diversity without denying anyone’s tribe or language. When we unite in that [Namibian] house you are not supposed to see that Damara, Ovawambo, Herero, Coloured. It must be one Namibian house. In the absence of unity, you may end up betraying your mission. This is your era. Therefore, as young people you must discover your mission in this new era.”
He further repeated similar sentiments on the 20th of October 2022, when he addressed the employees of the Bank of Namibia.
The question is, why is there tribalism amongst the youth? Perhaps one can say it is the effects of apartheid. However, one would expect the youth who are more educated than the older generation, to reason differently.
This then brings me to the topic of cultural intelligence. The world is a global village, and the need to be emotionally intelligent (EQ) and culturally intelligent (CQ) has become imminent.
Although EQ and CQ have some similar traits, there are some stark differences. EQ is the ability to identify and manage one’s emotions and the emotions, wants and needs of others. CQ is the ability to relate to and communicate effectively with people from other cultures and to be attuned to their values, beliefs, and styles of communication.
People with high cultural intelligence use the knowledge they garner from understanding the values, beliefs and styles of communications of other people, to help them relate to them with empathy and understanding.
Dr. Louise Rasmussen says “cultural intelligence implies that a person is able to get along with other people, no matter what their cultural background is”. So, below are some qualities that a culturally intelligence person ought to possess:
- Be curious and interested in learning about other cultures.
- Develop an awareness of self in relation to others.
- Make your mind a clean slate.
- Develop an awareness of your biases towards other cultures and traditions.
- Put yourself in situations with people from different cultures.
I further believe there is a need to intentionally not develop any prejudice against any culture, but rather unlearn and learn new things about people’s cultures. As cultures keep evolving.
Leaders who are seen to be culturally intelligent are seen to be:
- Thoughtful and approachable.
- Admit their mistakes and know how and when to apologise.
- Noticewhen their team members are exhausted and understand the importance of work-life balance.
- Practise self-carefor themselves and encourage others to do the same.
- Respect everyone’s uniqueness.
- Have compassion for other people’s weaknesses and extend grace to them when they err.
I will continue next week with how cultural intelligence can be applied at the workplace.
Morna Ikosa is a Senior Corporate Communications and Brand Reputation Strategist, CPRP, MA, AKA Fixer. To connect, send her a shout-out at micommunicationscc@gmail.com or find her on LinkedIn.
