Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett, 2017), outlines cultural sensitivity on a continuum from Denial to Integration, with full integration defined as “being able to move between cultures” (Guenthner & Soisson, 2017). As noble as that sounds, I don’t think it’s possible
I thought it would be when we first moved to Central Asia. We dressed in local styles, and ate local foods, and avoided letting our children wear U.S. clothes brands or plan with Captain America or Barbie. We were in a Muslim country, so we decorated only with non-representational art, and we participated in Muslim holidays – including not eating or drinking during daylight for a month because that’s what our colleagues did. We’d return to the States for a couple months every few years and join back in with old friendships. Fifteen years later, our friends in the States and in Asia comment on how “normal” we seem. In fact, many in both worlds have said that we seem able to move between cultures at will.
Also, we should probably exercise more caution than Northouse (2016) or Bennett display when implying that cultural integration is ethically or morally better than cultural denial. A lot of my work the last six years has focused on Third-Culture Kids (TCK’s). These are children whose parents live and work outside their home country, but have not immigrated. A growing body of research shows that children who live like this for an extended period, especially before high school, often report a lack of a sense of “home”, higher rates than their peers for anxiety and depression, and difficulties forming deep relationships in their countries of citizenship (Bushong, 2013; Reken, Pollock, & Pollock, 2017). My daughter, in considering returning to the States for college next year, after fourteen years in Asia, expressed the situation this way:
Tofu-like, Third-Culture Kids soak up different cultures, and let the flavors blend into an elevated third. We’re everywhere, appreciating everything.
But we don’t usually notice people like my friends who lives in Cokato, Minnesota, and love it. International conferences and Facebook’s algorithms always offer us more friends who brag about how many languages they speak but don’t help us know people who stay in one place. Like a guy who thinks sleeping around has taught him how to love a woman, I say I know countries because I’ve lived around. I love countries, but maybe don’t understand patriotism (Gwin, A., 2017).
Yes, leaders do need to be confident in their choices and sensitive to the legitimacy of others’ choices (Northouse, 2016, p. 429), but as soon as they start to compare their confidence and sensitivity to others – especially to those of other cultures – they demonstrate insecurity and insensitivity. If we say, “I can see your culture and my own, and choose what I want from each,” we’ve actually stepped into a third culture: that of the “enlightened,” who have replaced ethnocentrism with egocentrism. It tends to be a lonely culture.
References
Bennett, M. J. (2017). Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. In The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0182
Bushong, L. J. (2013). Belonging Everywhere and Nowhere: Insights into Counseling the Globally Mobile. Mango Tree Intercultural Services.
Guenthner, A., & Soisson, A. (2017). The Ideal of the Common: The Importance of Perspective and Diversity in Students’ Intellectual Development. Retrieved March 10, 2018, from http://provost.tufts.edu/celt/news/2017/03/20/the-ideal-of-the-common-the-importance-of-perspective-and-diversity-in-students-intellectual-development/
Gwin, A. (2017). Personal Essay #2. Unpublished manuscript.
LeadbyGreatnessVideo. (2012). Cultural Intelligence Defined. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeRhmRZ3eBc
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th Edition (7 edition). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Reken, R. E. V., Pollock, M. V., & Pollock, D. C. (2017). Third Culture Kids 3rd Edition: Growing up among worlds (3 edition). Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey.
