Mindfulness - a building block for cultural intelligence

Last month I wrote about mindfulness – how it can help us in a volatile, uncertain, ambiguous and changing world.

 Mindfulness is also a critical component of cultural intelligence.  If you are living or working in a different culture or working with people from different cultural backgrounds it will be helpful for you.  So let’s look at what mindfulness is and consider how it relates to cultural intelligence.

To revisit John Kabot-Zin – ‘mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally’.

From a cultural perspective, paying attention in the present moment is essential to observing similarities and differences in the culture around us (building CQ Knowledge).  When our attention is focused we will notice things, the big things and also the little things that can make a subtle difference to understanding the culture and the people.   

Paying attention in the moment will also help us to be aware of our own internal responses and regulate them in ways that will build relationships.  (CQ Strategy) Sometimes our immediate ‘gut level’ responses to something we encounter may be negative.  Showing shock, horror or disapproval at something that may be part of everyday life in another culture is never a good way to win friends and build understanding relationships.  If we are mindful of our internal responses we are more able to regulate them and prevent the emotional response from becoming something we say or do that is later regretted.

Our thoughts can sometimes take us down a pathway of negative comparisons or judgments.  When these negative thought patterns combine with the natural responses of homesickness or feeling a lack of belonging, a real negativity can grow towards the host culture.  This will impact our CQ Drive so we lose the motivation to reach out and get involved in the culture.  Being aware of those thoughts and not letting them ‘hook’ us into the spiral of negativity can break the pattern and enable us to take more positive actions.

Conversely experiencing a culture mindfully and savouring the enjoyment of it by consciously recognising our excitement, our enjoyment, or curiosity and interest in new foods, new sights, and new friends -this can help us to increase our CQ Drive. 

Mindfulness will help us to notice verbal and non-verbal responses in people around us and enable us to keep our attention focused on adapting our behaviour in intentional ways (CQ Action).

Given the value of mindfulness, how can we develop it?  How can we train our mind to focus in the moment?  Here are some exercises to begin with.

• Use guided mindfulness meditations to practice using your breathing to be fully present, to let thoughts pass by, observing and noticing them without getting hooked by them.

• Practice noticing things in your environment using different senses.  Right now what is the quietest sound you can identify?  How many shades of green can you see in a walk in the park?  Or shades of blue in a walk by the sea? Observe the way the wind moves the leaves on a tree.  Notice the sensations of your clothing against your skin or your body against the chair you are sitting in.  Notice the scents you can identify right now.

• Notice things with an attitude of curiosity.  “Isn’t that interesting”  “I wonder what that is” or “I wonder why they do that” -these are helpful thoughts to hold consciously as you begin your observations.

•  Practice scanning your body so you can identify areas of tension or discomfort. Do this with the attitude of curiosity described above. 

• Eat mindfully. Before you begin notice the look of the food, the colours, shapes and constitution.  Notice the smell of the food. Take a taste and notice the first tastes on your tastebuds.  Consider the ingredients in the food.  Notice the feel of it in your mouth.  Be aware of your chewing and swallowing. 

• Sitting in a busy place notice the people walking past you, their gait, their clothing, their speech, their manner.  Again hold the attitude of curiosity observing without judgement or comparison.

• Watch television with the sound turned down and notice the facial expressions and body language of the people on the screen.

• Set your phone to beep at certain points and immediately notice your thoughts at that point.  

• Another phone beep could be a reminder to ask yourself if you are operating in line with your values at this moment and then to consciously choose to move towards those values in action. 

Building CQ is a work in progress.  This is one way to keep progressing our development towards mindful cultural intelligence.