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Leading with Cultural Intelligence 3rd Edition: The Real Secret to Success
As our workplaces become increasingly global and diverse, being a culturally intelligent leader isn't just a bonus—it's essential.
Whether you're negotiating a contract with a supplier on the other side of the world, managing an increasingly diverse workforce, expanding your business across borders, or developing and applying cultural intelligence (CQ), this classic resource provides you with the adaptability you need to motivate, negotiate, and accomplish results with anyone, anywhere.
Having done consulting and research with leaders in more than 100 countries, David Livermore, founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center and professor at Boston University, has detailed the four CQ skills that are proven to maximize your leadership success in today’s diverse, global business
Drive—build your motivation and confidence to address cultural dilemmasKnowledge—learn how to read any cultural situationStrategy—create an inclusive, agile plan that accounts for diverse stakeholdersAction—adapt your leadership style without compromising effectiveness
Featuring the latest research, case studies, and new chapters on how to lead culturally intelligent organizations and teams, this new edition of Leading with Cultural Intelligence will help you thrive in any leadership environment—whether it's across the world or in your own back yard.
Whether you're negotiating a contract with a supplier on the other side of the world, managing an increasingly diverse workforce, expanding your business across borders, or developing and applying cultural intelligence (CQ), this classic resource provides you with the adaptability you need to motivate, negotiate, and accomplish results with anyone, anywhere.
Having done consulting and research with leaders in more than 100 countries, David Livermore, founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center and professor at Boston University, has detailed the four CQ skills that are proven to maximize your leadership success in today’s diverse, global business
Drive—build your motivation and confidence to address cultural dilemmasKnowledge—learn how to read any cultural situationStrategy—create an inclusive, agile plan that accounts for diverse stakeholdersAction—adapt your leadership style without compromising effectiveness
Featuring the latest research, case studies, and new chapters on how to lead culturally intelligent organizations and teams, this new edition of Leading with Cultural Intelligence will help you thrive in any leadership environment—whether it's across the world or in your own back yard.
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Published September 17, 2024
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About the author
David Livermore
28 books42 followersDAVID LIVERMORE, PH.D., is president and partner at the Cultural Intelligence Center and a visiting research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has done consulting and training with leaders in 100 countries and is the author of Leading with Cultural Intelligence (978-0-8144-1487-3).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 24, 2025
This is a thoroughly updated edition of Leading with Cultural Intelligence. Although I have not read any of the previous editions, it is clear that a lot has changed, since so much of this book references post-pandemic realities and different social themes related to DEI and some challenges related to it. This addresses hot button topics in a way that feels reasonable and isn't overly preachy.
The book has lots of great information for people who are new to thinking about cultural intelligence or understanding the ways that cultural differences affect interactions. However, if someone is already well-versed in the topic or even just familiar with the basic concepts, they can probably skip or skim through the first third of the book. The first third lays all of the groundwork for the topic, explaining the big ideas behind this and defending why cultural differences are important for leadership and business dealings. If someone is already sold on the book's premise, and isn't just going through this as required reading, they may not need this.
From there, the book gets into more practicalities of culturally engaged leadership. The author covers details about broad differences that will vary across demographics, such as a preference for direct versus indirect communication, and the level to which people are willing to tolerate uncertainty. He gives case studies and examples along the way, while also unpacking how leaders can approach things differently based on the people they're working with. He also writes about leading culturally engaged teams and about how to process interactions and create game plans and improvements for the future. The book focuses exclusively on business leadership, but the principles are also relevant to leadership in other sectors, if someone is willing to come up with their own examples and applications for their context.
This is a useful book for people who are leading people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and who have key customers and stakeholders who are very different than they are. This book touches on a lot of global themes, but many of the issues are relevant even with different demographics in the USA. This book is sometimes so general and so focused on big ideas that I wished that there were more practical exercises, but this will be helpful for people who want to become more aware of cultural elements at play in their business interactions, so that they can better support people who report to them, build a better relationship with customers and suppliers, and increase their company's profitability through recognizing complicated cultural factors and handling those interactions well.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.1>
The book has lots of great information for people who are new to thinking about cultural intelligence or understanding the ways that cultural differences affect interactions. However, if someone is already well-versed in the topic or even just familiar with the basic concepts, they can probably skip or skim through the first third of the book. The first third lays all of the groundwork for the topic, explaining the big ideas behind this and defending why cultural differences are important for leadership and business dealings. If someone is already sold on the book's premise, and isn't just going through this as required reading, they may not need this.
From there, the book gets into more practicalities of culturally engaged leadership. The author covers details about broad differences that will vary across demographics, such as a preference for direct versus indirect communication, and the level to which people are willing to tolerate uncertainty. He gives case studies and examples along the way, while also unpacking how leaders can approach things differently based on the people they're working with. He also writes about leading culturally engaged teams and about how to process interactions and create game plans and improvements for the future. The book focuses exclusively on business leadership, but the principles are also relevant to leadership in other sectors, if someone is willing to come up with their own examples and applications for their context.
This is a useful book for people who are leading people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and who have key customers and stakeholders who are very different than they are. This book touches on a lot of global themes, but many of the issues are relevant even with different demographics in the USA. This book is sometimes so general and so focused on big ideas that I wished that there were more practical exercises, but this will be helpful for people who want to become more aware of cultural elements at play in their business interactions, so that they can better support people who report to them, build a better relationship with customers and suppliers, and increase their company's profitability through recognizing complicated cultural factors and handling those interactions well.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.1>
April 20, 2025
I'm working with teams who are using the Cultural Intelligence vocabulary of the CQ quadrants: CQ Drive, CQ Knowledge, CQ Strategy, and CQ Action. Reading Livermore's book gave me a greater understanding of the foundations and applications of these concepts. If you feel you already have personal experience and strengths in CQ, the value of the book for you will be found in Part III, "Cultural Intelligence of Organizations and Teams" that includes chapter 8, "Leading a Culturally Intelligent Team" and chapter 9, "Building a Culturally Intelligent Organization."
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June 23, 2025Dr. David Livermore, founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center in Massachusetts, argues that Cultural Intelligence (abbreviated to CQ for the majority of the book) is a valuable and necessary trait for succeeding in today’s global business environment. He outlines four key skills to maximize a person’s CQ: Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, and Action.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews