好英语网不为人知的CQ竟然能决定你的成败
Imagine meeting someone for the first time who comes from a distant country but is fluent in your language. There may appear to be no immediate communication barrier, so would you adapt the tone and cadence of your voice, or the spacing of pauses in your speech?
试想：你第一次见到一个来自遥远国度的人，但此人却能流利使用你的语言。你们之间似乎没有沟通障碍，那么你是否会在说话过程中调整语调和节奏，或者停顿间隙？
How about altering your body language, mannerisms and facial expressions, depending on the background of the person in front of you? Would you sit or stand differently and pay attention to your hand gestures?
你会不会根据你面前的人的不同背景来改变肢体语言、行为习惯和面部表情？你是否会采用不同的坐姿或站姿，并关注自己的手势？
These are just a handful of the subtle shifts in behaviour that can contribute to what is known as your “cultural intelligence”, or CQ – and there is growing evidence that suggests they are well worth learning.
这些只是所谓的"文化智商"（CQ），也就是CQ中的一些细微变化——越来越多的证据表明，这的确是一门值得学习的技能。
“The number one predictor of your success in today’s borderless world is not your IQ, not your resume (CV), and not even your expertise,” writes social scientist David Livermore in his book The Cultural Intelligence Difference. “It’s your CQ.”
"在当今这个无国界的世界里，判断你能否成功的第一预测因素不是智商，不是简历，甚至不是专业技能，"社会学家大卫·利弗莫尔（David Livermore）在他的《文化智商差异》（The Cultural Intelligence Difference）一书中写道，"而是CQ。"
According to the latest findings, a high CQ could be crucial in a wide range of careers, from bankers to soldiers and scientists and teachers – anyone, in fact, who regularly interacts with people from different backgrounds.
根据最新的发现，高CQ对很多职业都至关重要，从银行家到士兵，再到科学家和老师——事实上，只要是需要经常与不同背景的人打交道，都会非常依赖这项能力。
So what is CQ? Why do some people have a higher CQ than others? And how can we nurture these abilities?
那么，究竟什么是CQ？为什么有些人的CQ高于其他人？我们又该如何培养这方面的能力呢？
Cultural differences
文化差异
Much of the research on CQ has been done by Soon Ang, a professor of management at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. In the late 1990s, her job was updating computer systems in Singapore to tackle the “Y2K bug” – a software glitch that was feared would bring down the world’s computer networks at the turn of the millennium. Ang put together an international team of programmers to solve the problem.
新加坡南洋理工大学管理学教授洪洵（Soon Ang）针对CQ进行了很多研究。在20世纪90年代末，她的工作是更新新加坡的电脑系统，以应对"千年虫"——人们当时担心这个软件漏洞会导致全世界的计算机网络在千禧年之交时瘫痪。洪洵组织了一个国际程序员团队来解决这个问题。
They were some of the brightest minds in the business, yet she soon found that they just couldn’t work together. The groups were ineffectual and failed to gel. Often, individual members would appear to agree on a solution, but then implement it in completely different ways.
他们是这个领域最聪明的一批人，但她却很快发现，他们根本无法合作。这个团队完全是徒劳，无法凝聚在一起。经常出现这种情况：某个团队成员似乎认同某个方案，但随后部署的时候却采用了截然不同的方式。
Clearly, it wasn’t a question of expertise or motivation. Instead, she saw that these highly capable employees were stumbling over each other’s cultural differences, leading to a breakdown in communication and understanding.
这显然不是技术或动机问题。相反，她认为问题出在这些能力极强的员工无法适应彼此的文化差异，导致沟通或理解上出现问题。
These insights would lead Ang to collaborate with the organisational psychologist P. Christopher Earley, then at the London Business School but now dean of the school of business and economics at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Together they built a comprehensive theory of CQ, which they defined as “the capability to function effectively in a variety of cultural contexts”.
展开了这番分析后， 洪洵与组织心理学家克里斯多夫·厄利（P. Christopher Earley）展开了合作，厄利当时还在伦敦商学院，现在则在澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚大学（University of Tasmania）担任商业和经济学院院长。他们共同建立了一套全面的CQ理论，并将其定义为"在多样化的文化背景中有效发挥职能的能力。"
Typically CQ is measured through a series of questions that assess four distinct components. The first is “CQ Drive” – the motivation to learn about other cultures. Then there is “CQ Knowledge”, which is an understanding of some of the general cultural differences you may face. “CQ Strategy”, examines how you make sense of those difficult confrontations and learn from them while “CQ Action”, involves your behavioural flexibility – whether you are able to adapt your conduct like a cultural chameleon.
典型的CQ是通过一系列问题对四个不同组成部分进行评估后得出的。首先是"CQ动力"——学习其他文化的动机。之后是"CQ知识"，对你所面对的一些一般文化差异的理解。"CQ战略"，调查你如何搞清楚这些不同的冲突，并从中吸取教训。"CQ行动"，这牵扯到你的行为有多么灵活——你能否像一个文化变色龙一样改变自己的行为。
Someone with low CQ might have a tendency to view everyone else’s behaviour through his own cultural lens. If he comes from a more gregarious environment, for instance, and notices that his Japanese or Korean colleagues are very quiet in a meeting, he may assume that they are being hostile or bored. In aviation, such cultural differences have sometimes caused a breakdown in communication between pilots and air traffic controllers, leading to fatal crashes.
低CQ的人往往会通过自己的文化透镜观察别人的行为。例如，如果他来自一个爱交际的环境，并在会议上发现日本或韩国同事很安静，他就会认为这些人充满敌意，或者无聊乏味。在航空业，这种文化差异有时会导致飞行员与空管员之间的沟通不畅，引发致命事故。
A person at the top of the scale, meanwhile, might realise that silence is a sign of respect and that feedback won’t be given unless it is explicitly invited. As a result, she’ll make sure to offer suitable opportunities within the meeting for others to provide their opinions.
而如果是高CQ的人，或许会认为这种安静是为了表达尊重，表明除非明确获得邀请，否则他们不会主动给出反馈。因此，她会确保在会议上给予他人合适的机会，让其表达自己的观点。
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many studies have explored how expats adapt to life abroad, showing that those with the highest initial CQ will find it easier to adjust to their new life. But CQ can also predict more objective aspects of job performance, such as international sales performance, negotiation skills, and overall leadership ability.
意料之中或许在于，很多人针对旅居海外的人如何适应国外生活展开的研究表明，原本就CQ较高的人很容易适应新的生活。但CQ也可以预测工作表现等较为客观的事情，例如国际销售工作、谈判技巧和整体的领导能力。
Three forms of intelligence
三种智商
One study from 2011 measured the IQ, emotional intelligence, or EQ, and CQ of 126 officers studying at the Swiss Military Academy as they engaged in various assignments supporting the United Nations in foreign territories and on international training exercises. Although all three forms of intelligence appeared to contribute to their overall performance, CQ turned out to be the best predictor – accounting for around 25% of the variation in the officers’ success on the international missions. IQ, by contrast, only predicted around 9.5% of the differences, while EQ predicted 3.5%.
2011年，瑞士陆军学院（Swiss Military Academy）的126名军官在海外执勤和国际训练科目中负责支援联合国。一项研究对他们的IQ、EQ和CQ进行了衡量。虽然这三种"智商"似乎都对他们的整体表现有影响，但CQ的预测效果最好——在预测这些军官在执行海外任务的效果时，大约能预测25%的差异。相比而言，IQ只能预测9.5%的差异，EQ只有3.5%。
While people with a high CQ might naturally gravitate to international jobs, these studies suggest differences in CQ can also predict their performance once they’re hired.
虽然拥有高CQ的人或许天生喜欢从事跨国任务，但这些研究也表明，CQ差异也可以预测他们入职后的表现。
This evaluation is leading many companies to consider testing CQ and find out how they can boost their employees’ scores. Organisations such as Starbucks, Bloomberg and the University of Michigan have used the services of the Cultural Intelligence Center in Michigan, which offers intercultural assessments and a range of courses.
这项评估使得很多公司考虑进行CQ测试，并找出提升员工得分的方法。星巴克、彭博社和密歇根大学等组织已经使用密歇根文化智商中心的服务。这家机构可以提供跨文化评估和一系列课程。
Crucially, Livermore, who is president of the Centre, says that CQ can be learned. There’s no replacement for direct, personal experience in another country, though it seems that people mostly benefit from having tasted a variety of different cultures if they want to learn those generalizable skills. “While understanding a specific culture can be useful, it may not predict at all your ability to engage effectively in a new place,” he says. “In fact, our research finds that individuals who have spent extended time in multiple locations are more likely to have higher CQ Knowledge than those who have lived multiple decades in one overseas setting.”
作为该中心的主任，利弗莫尔认为关键在于CQ是可以学习的。没有什么能代替亲身前往另一个国家去体验一番，但如果人们想要学习通用的技巧，最有效的方法似乎是了解多种不同的文化。"虽然理解一种具体的文化很有用，但可能无法预测你在新环境中展开有效互动的能力。"他说，"事实上，我们的研究发现，在很多地方都待过的人，比那些在一个海外环境中居住了几十年的人，更有可能具备较高的CQ知识。"
But explicitly teaching some of the key concepts seems to ease that process. Employees may take a CQ test and then work with a coach to identify potential challenges. Afterwards, they discuss those experiences and the ways they could adapt their behaviour in the future. Using this strategy, expat bankers moving to the Middle East and Asia appeared to have fully adjusted to their new life in just three months, while without the training, it normally took expat employees nine months to become fully functional.
但明确的传授一些关键概念似乎可以简化这一过程。员工可能会接受CQ测试，然后与教练一起找出潜在的问题。之后，他们会讨论这些经验，以及今后改变自己行为的方法。借助这种战略，外派到中东和亚洲的银行家似乎只用了3个月就完全适应了新的生活，而没有接受训练的外派员工通常需要9个月才能完全步入正轨。
Mindset
心态
But not everyone’s CQ grows with experience. Even after years of living abroad, some people’s understanding of other cultures appear to plateau, and they may also be resistant to training.
但并非所有人的CQ都会随着经验而增长。即便是在国外居住多年的人，对其他文化的理解也有可能到达平台期，他们可能抗拒培训。
Now researchers are trying to discover the reasons for these differences. Melody Chao, a social psychologist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology believes one answer lies in an individual’s mindset.
研究人员正在努力挖掘这些差异背后的原因。香港科技大学社会心理学家周文芝相信，答案源自人的心态。
She has been inspired by the work of the educational psychologist Carol Dweck, who has shown that people’s beliefs of their own capabilities often become self-fulfilling prophecies. On one hand, some people view their abilities as “fixed” and unchangeable. Others may have a “growth mindset”, meaning that they see their abilities as being more fluid, and so they are likely to persevere through hardship and embrace new challenges.
她受到了教育心理学家卡罗尔·德韦克（Carol Dweck）的启发。德韦克的研究成果表明，人们对自己能力的信念往往会成为自我实现的预言。一方面，有些人认为他们的能力是固定不变的。还有一些人或许秉承着"成长心态"，他们认为自己的能力并不固定，所以很有可能坚持艰苦奋斗，迎接新的挑战。
These differences soon add up, meaning someone with the fixed mindset may start out with greater natural talent, only to quickly fall behind someone with a growth mindset.
这些差异很快就会叠加起来，这意味着秉承固定心态的人原本可能更具天赋，但却会很快落于那些怀有成长心态的人。
Dweck’s work considered traditional concepts of intelligence, but Chao has shown that a similar process underlies changes in CQ too. If someone believes that cultural attributes are fixed, for instance, they may face greater anxiety during their interactions with local people, and may crumble after a confusing or difficult encounter without thinking of ways to adapt in the future. As a result, those cultural differences may come to feel like insurmountable boundaries.
德韦克的研究考虑的是传统的智力概念，但周文芝表示，CQ的变化也会遵循类似的过程。例如，如果有人认为文化属性是固定的，他们在与当地人的交往中可能会面临更大的焦虑，在遇到困惑或困难的情况后可能会崩溃，而不会考虑如何适应未来。因此，这些文化差异可能让人感觉像是不可逾越的界限。
“Individuals’ beliefs create a reality for themselves,” says Chao. She argues that businesses could measure these underlying beliefs in addition to their employees’ raw CQ scores, and adjust their training to address those anxious, fixed beliefs.
"个人信念为他们自己创造了一个现实。" 周文芝说。她认为，企业可以在员工的原始CQ分数的基础上，再来衡量这些潜在的信念，并调整他们的培训方案，以解决那些焦虑的、固定的信念。
Despite these new ways of thinking about CQ, research in this area is still in its infancy, warns Chao.
周文芝警告说，尽管可以通过这些新方法来思考CQ，但这个领域的研究仍处于起步阶段。
“As international and intercultural dynamics have been changing very rapidly, there is still much for us to learn about how to enhance cultural competence of individuals,” she says. In a world where our global connections grow ever tighter, that new understanding can’t come quickly enough.
"由于国际形势和跨文化动态的变化非常迅速，我们仍然需要通过大量的学习来提高个人的文化能力。"她说。在一个全球联系日益紧密的世界里，这种新的理解力怎么快都不够。