Enhancing Cultural Intelligence | Capability @ Lunch Recap

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is sometimes dismissed as a “soft skill”: something nice to have, but not essential. But in this month’s Capability @ Lunch session, Trish Lui and Holona Lui reframed that thinking. Throughout this session, Trish and Holona showed us that growing your CQ isn’t just important, it’s a strategic leadership advantage when it comes to building trust, navigating difference, and working effectively with others.

What is Cultural Intelligence?

Holona opened the session by defining Cultural Intelligence (CQ):

“CQ is the ability to recognise, understand, and adapt to cultural differences, both visible and invisible, in ways that are respectful, effective, and inclusive.”

Holona highlighted that at the heart of CQ is the ability to stay curious rather than judgmental, to notice your own habits and assumptions, and to adapt your behaviour to the people and context around you.

Trish emphasised that while cultural generalisations can provide a helpful starting point, every person is complex and shaped by many layers of identity, experience, and context.

Introducing the Cultural Competency Model

The first model introduced was George Simons’ Cultural Competency Model, which outlines three foundations for effective cross-cultural work:

This model encouraged participants to start with themselves, then build outward with intention and empathy.

The Four Domain CQ Framework

The next framework introduced was David Livermore’s Cultural Intelligence Model. This evidence-based, strategic model is widely used in leadership development and includes four capabilities:

• CQ Drive: Your motivation to engage with cultural differences.
• CQ Knowledge: Your understanding of how cultures differ and how they shape worldviews.
• CQ Strategy: How you plan, reflect, and build rapport with others. This includes whether your relationships are relational or transactional.
• CQ Action: Your ability to adapt your behaviour when working across cultures.

This framework helped position CQ as an active, learnable skillset that is deeply relevant for leadership.

Framing Culture: The Iceberg / Atoll Model

To build on the concept of visible and invisible culture, Trish and Holona introduced the cultural iceberg or atoll. Similar to an iceberg, only a small portion of someones cultural influences are observable. This includes things like behaviour, dress, and language. But below the surface is where the real drivers lie: values, beliefs, traditions, and even cultural wounds.

Holona emphasised that the non-observable influences are the drivers of the observable behaviours. One example brought this to life: in some cultures, giving a gift is a sign of goodwill. In others, it may be interpreted as a bribe. Understanding these deeper influences is key to navigating difference well.

When we assume that what is visible tells the full story, we risk misunderstanding. Taking time to understand the cultural layers beneath someone’s actions leads to more meaningful and respectful communication.

Seeing the World Through Our Own Cultural Lens

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin

We moved into a reflective exercise, where participants were asked to reflect on how their own life experience shapes their worldview. Some spoke about growing up in small towns and moving to cities. Others reflected on family dynamics, travel, or language. We all carry a lens, and we often forget we’re looking through it.

Trish shared the work of Yang Liu, who was born in China and educated in Germany. Through her illustrations, Liu explores the cultural differences between a collectivist culture (China), and individualistic culture (Germany).

Shifting Our Assumptions

With a clearer understanding that observable behaviours can carry different meanings across cultures, Holona and Trish shared a simple but powerful table that highlighted how easily cultural misunderstandings can arise.

Behaviour	Assumption	Alternative Explanation
Someone avoids eye contact	They’re being dishonest	It may be a sign of respect
Silence in meetings	They’re disengaged	They may be processing or deferring to hierarchy
Someone arrives late	They’re unprofessional	Time may be viewed more flexibly in their culture; they may have other duties that take precedence

This activity invited everyone to pause and ask: What else could be true here?

The Cross-Culture Communication Model

Trish and Holona then introduced the final CQ model of the session, the Cross-Cultural Communication Model, developed by Tim Sullivan and featured in The Intercultural Twilight Zone (2019).

Core and Flex: Navigating Difference

To help with practical application, the Core and Flex model was introduced.

• Core refers to your non-negotiables. These are the values and behaviours that remain consistent for you across contexts.
• Flex refers to the ways you can adapt your behaviour depending on who you’re with or where you are.

Flexing is not about being fake. It is about responding to others in ways that build trust and understanding, while staying true to yourself. Our ability to flex changes as our Cultural Intelligence grows and our experience increases.

This session reminded us that building cultural intelligence is both a personal journey and a leadership imperative. It starts with curiosity, grows through reflection, and leads to more inclusive and effective relationships at work.

If you enjoyed this session or found this post intriguing and want to find out more about cultural intelligence, register for Trish and Holona’s course, Engaging with Pasifika, or build your leadership skills with their Leadership Fundamentals course.

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A Note on CQ and Technology

The session closed with a critical reminder: AI is not culturally neutral. These systems are trained on data sets that carry cultural values and biases. Without CQ, we may accept biased outputs without question. CQ invites us to stay awake, ask better questions, and remain thoughtful about how we use technology.

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What’s Next?

Our next Capability @ Lunch session will explore the gap between what customers say they do, versus what they actually do. Click here to register. 

These sessions are proudly brought to you by Kāpuhipuhi Wellington Uni-Professional in partnership with Hāpai Public.

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Trish Lui is an experienced learning and development consultant, facilitator, and coach with close to 20 years of experience. She has a BA in Education and English Literature, and her career spans leadership development, adult education, and intercultural learning. She brings warmth, clarity, and deep insight into how people learn and grow.

Holona Lui has over two decades of experience in learning, development, and communications. He specialises in helping individuals and organisations build cross-cultural competence and has a passion for designing learning that transforms thinking. Together, Trish and Holona combine professional expertise with their lived experience as a cross-cultural couple and business partners.