Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand, use, and manage one’s own emotions effectively, and to understand the emotions of others.
El enables leaders to achieve success in the following ways:

• Leaders with high El are better able to make sound decisions because they are aware of their own emotions, which can influence their judgment.
• Leaders with high El are better able to build strong relationships with their team members and stakeholders. For example, Vikram Sarabhai used emotional intelligence while engaging with his team members and led ISRO to new heights.
• Emotionally intelligent leaders are better able to motivate and inspire their team members. For example, M.S. Dhoni stayed calm and focused under pressure and led the Indian cricket team effectively.

However, in today’s interconnected world where people from different nations work together under the same organization, leaders need to go beyond emotional intelligence and cultivate cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence signifies the ability to recognise and understand different cultures and the willingness to investigate the reasons why individuals belonging to different cultural backgrounds act the way they do. Cultivating cultural intelligence holds significance for leaders in the following ways:

• It enables leaders to improve communication by understanding the perspectives of employees and laying out their own ideas in a way that their employees will understand. For instance, Satya Nadella made it a priority and promoted initiatives to create a culture of inclusion and diversity at Microsoft.
• Leaders with cultural intelligence will focus on enhancing relationships with employees who belong to different parts of the world by connecting with them on a personal level and building trust and cooperation.
• It will lead to increased opportunities, as it ensures that a person can work with people from different cultures. It also helps leaders cope with diversity by broadening their perception and preventing them from showing biasness against employees from other countries.
• It will help establish an inclusive work culture and aid in peaceful conflict resolution, as culturally intelligent individuals are more likely to promote equality and respect human rights.

In today’s highly interconnected and globalised world, companies like Coca Cola, PepsiCo, General Motors, etc. cannot succeed if they do not understand diverse consumer preferences worldwide. Further, companies have to modify their products/services as per the cultural preferences in a nation. For instance, McDonald’s, a global food chain, does not serve beef and pork products in India out of respect for the local cultural sensitives. Imbibing cultural intelligence by leaders is not a recent phenomenon. Leaders like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. demonstrated cultural intelligence by working towards bridging cultural divides in their respective countries. Cultural intelligence is a learnable skill just like any other and to cultivate it, one needs to be open-minded, carry out research on different cultures and be curious about learning and adopting new perspectives.