Cultural Intelligence: Unconscious Bias Affects Everyone

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

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You've heard of IQ and EQ, but what about CQ?

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) refers to our ability to function effectively across national, ethnic, and even organizational cultural boundaries. Cultural Intelligence involves four interdependent skills:

• Knowledge
• Motivation
• Interpretation
• Behavior

Cultural Intelligence building is a life-long journey, and all can improve their CQ over time. Building CQ uncovers our unconscious biases and teaches us ways to combat them. In a world of culture clashes, any effort towards cultural intelligence will make an immediate and effective impact. Relevant to all staff, this workshop introduces concepts and actions which shape personal and organizational cultural competencies. Through highly interactive content, our conversation will change perceptions and actions in ways that encourage and nurture. The train-the-trainer format leaves learners with the materials and confidence to develop training programs in their own organizations.

Building our CQ makes us better communicators and more gracious actors in our increasingly diverse world. This workshop also explores how CQ can shape our libraries’ policies, services, and programs in ways that help our staff and users bridge the culture gaps and cross the cultural boundaries of our ever-changing communities.

Improving our organizational CQ fosters trust in our libraries and makes our libraries more effective community anchors. Build your CQ and learn tools you can apply immediately as you shape your library’s future.

Schedule at a Glance

Speaker

Marla Ehlers

Trained by CQ expert Dr. Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim and certified through the Cultural Intelligence Center, Marla Ehlers has facilitated many workshops on CQ among a variety of learners. Marla most recently presented on Cultural Intelligence for the Public Library Association as well as the Florida State Department’s Library and Information Services Division. She has spoken on a variety of other topics at state and national conferences. With over 25 years in libraries and a background in teaching, children’s services, and library administration, Marla currently leads her own consulting firm.

Registration Rates

Early Bird Rates expire April 21, 2021.

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Platform

This event will be hosted on Zoom. Login information will be included in the confirmation email.

Consent

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Code of Conduct

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Full Code of Conduct can be reviewed here: MLA Code of Conduct.