Too many Americans get hung up on the term “diversity,” mistakenly believing it to equate with half-baked, unfair, politically correct, social initiatives designed to placate minorities, while ignoring the interests of whites. In fact, I was once asked by an individual inquiring about my availability to address a group of helping professionals on the subject, to call it anything but diversity. She intended to address “something broader than the black-white issue,” she said.

At the time, I was reluctant to do so. I didn’t believe it was necessary. After all, when one looks up the very word “diversity” in the dictionary, there’s nothing at all about minorities versus whites. In fact, the true definitions capture exactly what many diversity trainers work so hard to address. Diversity simply means difference, variation. Period. Managing Diversity, therefore, is about supporting all kinds of difference and variation. Period.

I am aware that the real problem here is that many of us are simply uncomfortable addressing the issue of difference in the context of skin color, especially in the workplace where fear, guilt, anxiety and political leanings certainly have little to no place.

So, forget diversity. That’s right. Forget it. Think instead, in terms of cross-cultural intelligence where “culture” assumes its true definition and acknowledges that every single individual has his/her own unique variation of one. Learning about culture—what we value and how we interpret and interact with the world around us—can be a most valuable step towards understanding and dealing with difference of all kinds, especially when we start with our own.

A brief primer on culture: Everybody’s got one Culture shows up in the social norms, customs, symbols, humor, expectations, beliefs and communication practices of social groups. The specific artifacts of culture may differ among various ethnic groups, racial groups, genders, generations, and other social groups. They often point to different "value-systems," that only after exploring the broader social context make sense to others.

Culture can be broken down into the following four components:

1. Orientation to time: Whether focus is on the past, present, or future,
2. Orientation to people: Ideas about authority and hierarchy, communication style, approach to conflict, etc.
3. Orientation to the environment: Whether it's here to serve us, or we're here to serve it.
4. Values and Philosophies: What's most important in life.

We must recognize that within cultures there are also subcultures. And, as with everything else, that there are always exceptions. For example, an infant who was adopted from China, yet raised in the United States by an American family might, by others unfamiliar with her background, mistakenly be expected to demonstrate or be familiar with the cultural characteristics commonly associated with individuals born and raised in China. However, her cultural characteristics will most likely be more closely linked to those shared by other Americans.

Your own unique cultural lens is shaped by any combination of the following: gender, class, the neighborhood you grew up in, where you currently reside, the generation you were born into, ethnic background, the field you work in, and a host of other groups which shape how we view and interact with the world around us. Furthermore, context will always determine which particular cultural influence is more salient. In other words, if you are the lone American male in a group of American women, you will most likely feel the gender influence to be most salient, but consider a different context, say you’re the lone American male in a group of all Japanese men, and now the cultural influences derived from nationality may become most visible.

The benefits of cross-cultural intelligence Cross-cultural intelligence then, becomes an especially critical competency as managers and leaders search for ways to build bridges between clear, and often complicating differences in the workplace. With enhanced cross-cultural intelligence, we are better able to:

• Identify shared ideas and common ground, and transcend conflict Understanding that many different variables ultimately shape who we are and how we view and interact with the world, enables us to also understand that despite some differences (e.g. specific profession, gender, age, ethnicity), that we may indeed also share cultural similarities resulting from other social variables.

• Think and act with less influence from blinding stereotypes Once we understand the complexity of culture in shaping our views and approach to the world, only then we can we develop a new level of appreciation for the limited ability of stereotypes to honestly capture an entire group, as they are usually based on a single identification label. Suddenly it’s clearer than crystal that all lawyers, all women, all young people, all Latinos cannot possibly be the same, share the same ideas/values, the same social norms.

• Develop highly effective interpersonal skills in general In the process of building greater cross-cultural intelligence we also develop greater communication, listening and feedback skills as well as improved use of inquiry.

• Successfully partner with other regional or international organizations Recognizing that regional and national differences often result in clear cultural differences—e.g. preferences and manners of conducting business, communicating and handling organizational realities such as hierarchy—the cross-culturally intelligent leader is able to anticipate and respond more effectively.

• Identify and support varying ideas and approaches to effectively getting work done Building diverse, high-performing teams is a key responsibility for most managers and organizational leaders. The advent of an increasingly diverse workforce, greater use of cross-functional teams and global alliances means that cross-cultural intelligence has become a critical tool, required to successfully meet these challenges.

So what should you remember about cultural difference?

• Value systems may differ, but that no one culture is better or more right than another
• In order to understand someone from another culture, we need to understand how they view the world along the four components of culture
• The best way to begin to understand culture is to explore our own!

Ask yourself:

• What messages have I received about my own culture?

• What expectations was I raised with and to what degree are they culturally based?

• How did growing up when I did shape who I am?

• How does my gender shape how I view the world?

• What are my values and where do they come from?

If we first seek to understand ourselves, then it's only a small step forward to understanding and connecting with others!

In summary, cross-cultural intelligence: addresses much more than race and skin color, while not negating either; supports individuals in the development of key interpersonal and effectiveness skills; and, introduces a new competency that can support leaders and managers in fulfilling the very important role they play in increasingly diverse, global organizations.

Susan Eckert, MA, CCM, CPRW is a consultant, trainer and professional coach. Her website, http://www.advancecareerdevelopment.com  offers a free subscription to a monthly career management newsletter, e-books, articles and tips. An upcoming resource center will also feature e-courses. Visit her website or contact her at 800-824-6611 for more information about how ACPD can help you/your organization be more effective.