The rise of AI, pandemics, virtual work, economic and social upheaval including migration, climate disasters, divisive and destructive politics, and terrorist attacks around the world are literally changing the face of our world and work in this 4th Industrial Revolution, “Decade of Determination”. Our world is inescapably global, diverse and VUCCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Culturally Complex, and Ambiguous.
How do we create a humane work environment where everyone feels included and like they belong so all have the opportunity to unlock potential so all can live in prosperity and flourish in peace (my vision), with quadruple bottom line impact rather than losses including talent?
Cultural intelligence is crucial to this Quadruple Bottom Line success in this new world of work, as cited in Ang, Van Dyne and Rockstuhl’s research, “90% of leading executives from 68 countries identify intercultural skills as among the most important capabilities required to remain competitive.” I’ve developed and share with you ACHE™ as a key tool for increasing Cultural Intelligence.
What is cultural intelligence? Find out in this 30 second video
Introduction to the ACHE’™ model for Sustainable Quadruple Bottom Line Impact :
- Awareness and attitude: You can become more aware of others’ cultural identities (gender, generation, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, political belief, etc) and your judgments, bias towards those cultural identities, as well as others toward yours, by pausing, taking a few deep breaths and noticing who triggers your emotional reaction or judgment.
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- Choose your attitude: you can keep your bias or choose to unbias. You can dwell in the land of complaints and overwhelm or choose to view transition as an innovation unlocking adventure, give thanks for your team’s strengths and focus on your inspiring vision!
- Check in: how clear and inspiring is your vision? How aware of your own and others’ cultural identities and reactions towards them are you? How are you increasing your awareness? Unbiasing?
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- Curiosity: Asking questions to gain an understanding of others mindsets as well as your own, like, “What are you experiencing?” or “Tell me more” and
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- Asking yourself questions to reveal your own assumptions, judgments, bias (we all have unconscious bias, and that does not let us off the hook for identifying and managing them).
- Listen! Leaders and their organizations who do this with empathy experience greater talent retention, contributing to profit/prosperity.
- Ask: How can I/we have the biggest positive, sustainable Quadruple Bottom Line (People, Planet, Profit and Purpose) impact? What is the most loving thing I can do: for the earth, this community, this organization, our team, for others, my family, for myself?
- Learn about different perspectives.
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3. Humility, a lack of arrogance.
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- Moving from believing our culture is “right” and “the only way, others are “wrong” or “we are all alike” (because that denies our uniqueness that can be leveraged for greater family, team, community, organizational success) to
- Accepting other cultures have their own wisdom and being able to adapt
- Choosing, integrating and leveraging other cultural perspectives without losing our own. (Milton J. Bennet’s Ethnocentrism) “It takes humility to realize we don’t know everything…to know we must keep learning and observing.” Cher Wang, HTC CEO .
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4. Engage with empathy: the ability to sense other people’s emotions and imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.
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- Listen to understand rather than judge
- Pay attention to nonverbal, including facial expressions, including your own (especially important on Zoom!)
- Along with integrating and leveraging differences, keep in mind what we have in common
- Engage each stakeholder, including the community
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“Best boss I’ve ever had” an Inclusion Officer said in a 360 interview, because of empathy.
How will you track your Quadruple Bottom Line progress organizationally? How will you make belonging, inclusion, equity, diversity an integral part of your business strategy including, pay, promotion, hiring decisions, avoiding talent loss which has disproportionally effected women, women of color? How will you utilize our ACHE’™ approach to employee feedback and the flexibility expected today?
Apply for an Unlock Potential Strategy Session with me.
Updated excerpt from “ACHE’™ for Sustainable Quadruple Bottom Line Impact”, © 2022 Marilyn O’Hearne, Humanity@Work,, Mac Bogart and friends.
