Building the Foundation of Cultural Intelligence: Awareness and Knowledge

In our diverse world, cultural intelligence (CQ) isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, it’s essential. Whether you’re collaborating with teammates from different backgrounds or creating work that truly connects with an audience, CQ helps you communicate, relate, and innovate better.

When we talk about culture, we mean the shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and experiences that shape how groups of people see the world and interact with it. Culture can be about nationality or ethnicity, it also includes things like sex, gender, age, religion, socioeconomic background, disability, and even professional communities. Everyone carries multiple cultural identities that influence how they think, communicate, make decisions, and engage with others.

And before we get into adapting strategies or skills to engage effectively across so many differences, it all begins with two key pillars: Cultural Awareness and Cultural Knowledge.

What Is Cultural Awareness?

Cultural awareness is recognizing how your own identity, background, and experiences shape your worldview and interactions, and understanding that others see and experience the world differently through their own unique lenses.

This means noticing preferences or assumptions you might hold based on your upbringing, social environment, or community, and being mindful of how those might affect your work and relationships.

For example, a team member who grew up in a tight-knit family-oriented culture might prioritize group consensus and avoid public disagreement, while someone from a more individualistic background might be more comfortable with direct debate and speaking up openly.

What Is Cultural Knowledge?

Cultural knowledge goes a little deeper, it’s learning about the histories, values, communication styles, and lived experiences of others that influence how they show up at work and in life.

It’s about understanding why a colleague might:

• Prefer indirect communication because in their culture, maintaining harmony and peace is vital.

• Experience workplace microaggressions differently due to their racial or ethnic identity.

• Value relationship-building and storytelling as key to decision-making because of cultural traditions.

• Navigate gender norms or expectations differently based on their community or personal background.

Cultural knowledge helps us see the context behind behaviors and needs so we can respond with respect and opportunity, instead of judgment.

Why These Matter

Cultural intelligence (CQ) isn’t just about being respectful, it also directly impacts performance, trust, and bottom-line results. Leaders and teams with high CQ are better equipped to navigate stress, avoid missteps, and adapt communication effectively across cultures. According to research, hospitals led by culturally intelligent leaders were better at treating patients and had fewer misdiagnosis lawsuits. In business, project managers with high CQ were more effective at motivating cross-cultural teams, and entrepreneurs with high CQ were more likely to succeed in emerging markets (Toastmasters Magazine).

5 ways to Build Your Cultural Awareness and Knowledge:

1. Reflect on Your Own Identity and Biases

   • Think about your own upbringing, family, community, and how those shape your communication, who you naturally get along with and even the work you produce.

   • Notice moments where you feel challenged or frustrated and ask yourself, could cultural assumptions or discomfort be involved here?

   • Try journaling to capture your thoughts and reflections.

   • Seek support with a coach to work through your discomfort and opportunities.

     
     

2. Consume Authentic Stories from Diverse Voices.

   One of the most powerful ways to build cultural awareness is by immersing yourself in stories told by people with lived experiences, across race, culture, gender, ability, and more.

   • Watch shows, movies, and documentaries that center diverse voices. Start with films and series that share authentic cultural representation or challenge dominant narratives. These will often be available on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, PBS, and YouTube. A few here to consider:

     • Crip Camp (disability rights),

     • 13th (racial justice and incarceration),

     • American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs (Asian American activism),

     • Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (Indigenous influence in music),

     • Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America,

     • Always Be My Maybe (Asian-American romantic comedy),

     • Colin in Black & White (coming of age and racial identity)

     • Mo (Palestinian-American experience),

     • Ramy (Muslim identity in America),

     • Indian Matchmaking and Jewish Matchmaking (global cultural norms around relationships),

     • Reservation Dogs (modern Indigenous youth culture),

     • Disclosure (trans representation in media),

   • Read books, memoirs, and blogs from people across identities. Examples include:

     • Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong (Asian American identity)

     • I’m Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace by Elizabeth Leiba (Black womanhood + work)

     • Disability Visibility, edited by Alice Wong (disability rights and lived experience)

     • Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (childhood immigrant story)

     • Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (queer Muslim identity)

     • The Pretty One by Keah Brown (Black disabled womanhood)

     • We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza (race, friendship, and perspective)

     • Tell Me Who You Are by Winona Guo & Priya Vulchi (young people exploring identity across America)

     • The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (Latinx undocumented experiences)

   • Listen to podcasts that unpack culture, identity, and intersectionality. Try conversations like:

     • Code Switch (race and identity in everyday life),

     • The Stoop (Black identity and nuance),

     • Latino USA (Latinx experiences),

     • The Diversity Gap (equity in leadership),

     • Neurodiverging (neurodiversity and accessibility),

     • Disability Visibility Podcast,

     • Immigrantly (immigrant and diaspora voices).

   • Follow diverse creators on social media for both education and lived experiences. Follow creators across LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, whether they’re educators, lifestyle vloggers, entrepreneurs, artists, or everyday folks sharing pieces of their experience through the lens of their culture, race, faith, gender identity, disability or others.

     Tip: When finding educators, search topics you are interested in and follow creators who have both similar and different identities, backgrounds and experiences as you. Understand that people may relay information differently depending on their cultural backgrounds, so be mindful of how information is being relayed that feels safe to you and expand along the way.

   • Explore relevant hashtags to hear directly from communities. Use hashtags like:

     #MyCulture, #BlackVoices, #ImmigrantVoices, #BeingAsian, #ActuallyAutistic, #NeurodivergentVoices, #DisabilityPride, #TransVoices, #NonbinaryLife, #MuslimVoices, #CodeSwitching, #Microaggressions, #RepresentationMatters, #AuthenticallyMe

Special Note: No group is monolith, so while you may gain insight to one person's experience, this is not all representative of their entire identity group. Seeking different experiences and understandings just allows us to better understand difference and broaden our perspective.

3. Attend Community Events or Cultural Workshops

   • Join talks or panels hosted by local cultural organizations or employee resource groups (ERGs) at work.

   • Search Eventbrite, Meetup, or Facebook Events for gatherings focused on identity, culture, and social justice topics.

Tip: When attending cultural events, be respectful by researching beforehand, following community norms, dressing appropriately, observing before participating, and centering the experience on learning, not on yourself.

4. Ask Thoughtful, Respectful Questions

   • When appropriate, invite teammates to share what’s important to them "What's something you're looking forward to this season", “What’s a way I can be a better teammate?”

   • Listen actively when others are speaking.

   • When asked, share your own experiences to build trust and connection.

   • Respect boundaries if someone prefers not to share deeply.

   
   

5. Learn About Common Cultural Patterns Without Stereotyping

   • Use tools and resources like Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, Cultural Atlas or Aperian Global to understand broad cultural tendencies.

But remember: culture shapes tendencies and it is always not the hard core rule. Always see people as individuals and check in first.

Real-World Example #1

Say you’re collaborating with a Black colleague Black who you know has often navigated predominantly white workspaces.

Cultural awareness helps you recognize that their lived experience may include code-switching or feeling pressure to downplay aspects of their identity to be perceived as “professional” or simply not stand out. Cultural knowledge informs you that experiences with microaggressions or exclusion can impact psychological safety and willingness to be comfort, ask for help or to speak up in group settings.

Using that knowledge, you might actively support inclusive norms like rotating who speaks first in meetings, acknowledging contributions publicly, making sure your comments aren't rooted in stereotypes or assumptions, commenting on a style expression in a simple and positive way, or checking in 1:1 to understand what works best for them. Leaders in an organization may also explore opportunities for things like coaching or affinity based networks for individuals from various cultures as well, all demonstrating respect for their lived experience and helping create a more equitable, inclusive environment.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE #2

Say you’re working with a colleague who identifies as neurodivergent and has sensory sensitivities.

Cultural awareness helps you recognize that their experience of workplace noise or lighting is different from yours. Cultural knowledge informs you that some individuals who are neurodivergent prefer asynchronous communication (like emails or messaging apps) rather than in-person meetings or phone calls.

Using that knowledge, you might offer flexible meeting options and check in privately to identify what will help them participate best, showing respect for their unique lived experience and ultimately enhancing team engagement and better outcomes for the business.

Final Thoughts

Building cultural awareness and knowledge is an ongoing commitment of curiosity, humility, and respect. It’s about seeing differences clearly while honoring the individual stories behind them.

Through cultivating these foundations consistently, it will start to become second nature to stay open to the possibilities, setting yourself and your team up for stronger relationships, better collaboration, and work that truly reflects the beauty of diverse human experience.

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