Competency Focus: Cross-Cultural Skills

How Cross-Cultural Skill Building Influences my Leadership Success
Building cross-cultural skills has been an invaluable part of my education- not only at ASU, but as a professional in the sales world and as a business owner myself. In sales, I have had to learn and think on my feet when communicating with new clients from a variety of backgrounds, learning their communication preferences, connecting on shared ideas and culture, and even through circumventing language barriers. Understanding the basics of different cultures has given me the opportunity to become a more well-rounded professional, and I have been able to give my very best to my clients and families. I have learned how to quickly assess cultural foundations, such as different religions requiring certain burial practices and timelines, or how certain parts of the United States prefer speaking compared to other parts. In sales, this is commonly referred to as “knowing your audience”, but is actually a strong indicator of advanced cross-cultural skills.

Why is it Important for Professors to teach Cross-Cultural Skills?
Because of how globalized our society has become, students and professionals must adapt to the ever-changing cultural landscape that we find ourselves in. Understanding the fundamentals of treating other cultures with respect, and how to quickly identify common ground with new cultures, helps every professional maintain higher levels of competence in other areas of business as well. Whether someone is an Account Executive for a major oil company needing to figure out the culture of the countries that they work with, to the cashier at the Target having a basic understanding of the common languages spoken in their area, understanding the basic tenants of cross-cultural communication and skills creates a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

Personal Growth & Development at Arizona State University
Coming to ASU has allowed me to develop a firm understanding of cross-cultural skills by being immersed in a highly diverse campus culture. I come from a small town in Southwest Arizona, so getting to meet students from around the world was definitely a culture shock at first. After my first semester, and after taking my first cultural communication class, I learned of the importance of effective communication across cultural lines. As a part of my studies, I have a concentration in cultural communication for my Communication Rhetoric degree, and have taken several cultural communication classes as a part of my major. This has allowed me to develop a strong understanding of what makes cross-cultural skills so important in the modern workplace. I have used the skills that I’ve learned to become a better sales leader, communicator, and team member in a variety of positions I’ve held outside of taking classes at ASU. 

Personal Artifact: Policy Briefing on Global Leadership Styles

One of the most interesting classes that I have taken at ASU has been OGL 350: DIversity in Organizations with Dr. Kermit Brown. During this course, I learned so much about global leadership styles, cultural elements and how they appear in multinational organizations, and how different cultural leadership styles affect the overall culture and environment in the workplace. As part of this course, I wrote a policy brief about several cultures and how their leadership styles differed compared to American leadership styles. The briefing changed the way I thought about cultural sensibilities in organizations, and has changed the way I view leadership across large-scale organizations. I now work for a company that has several European and Asian offices, and have a better understanding of how each of these offices differ compared to my office in Atlanta. 

Reference 

Rasmussen, Louise. (2025). Cross-Cultural Competence: Engage People from any Culture. Global Cognition. https://www.globalcognition.org/cross-cultural-competence/