Cultural Intelligence for Special Forces Personnel

In a 2009 JSOU Press monograph reflecting on the education requirements for Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel, Brigadier General Russ Howard (U.S. Army, retired) identified "cultural competency" as critical to SOF professional development. He returns to this theme with researchers Greta Hanson and Carly Laywell by answering this question: Why can some people act effectively in new cultures or among people with unfamiliar backgrounds while others, even highly respected people within their own group, stumble in those same situations?The research team asserts that cultural intelligence (CQ) makes the difference and describes a proficiency that goes beyond simply being intelligent, emotionally mature, or having good general social skills. The empirical evidence offered in the research should resonate because SOF personnel will recognize operator attributes. These include bridging divides and knowledge gaps in an organization: transferring knowledge between otherwise disparate groups; and helping to build interpersonal connections and smooth the interpersonal processes in a multicultural team.The need for the SOF operator to effectively interact with interagency counterparts, indigenous peoples, and transnational, nongovernmental actors suggests that a predictive assessment of CQ potential and a toolkit of skills for professional development could be a key component of talent management and a source of competitive advantage. The authors argue that culturally intelligent personnel possess the potential to boost innovation and creativity due to their ability to help the team make best use of the multiple perspectives which are central to by, with, and through strategies.