ABSTRACT
Cultural Intelligence (CQ), when started at the beginning of the 21st Century, was considered as a promising concept that everyone can use to work effectively abroad. Its focus on the individual (i.e. Psychology dimension) and its escape from the anthropological generalised surveys was one of the strengths. However, CQ could not fulfil its promises due to one fact: its reliance on national culture, the core of the construct. Being trapped in such a way made becoming a cultural chameleon a kind of dream or a myth. This is because no one can master more than one national culture and in case a person intends to learn a new national culture, he ends up losing his own. This dilemma is called in management and CQ discourse as “the dilemma of losing the absolutes”. In this chapter, we provide the reader with full coverage over CQ’s inception, development, future, and critique. We also shed light on the importance of reviving CQ to become a practical competency of effective leaders in the era of digital transformation and globalisation.
