Innovative organizations cannot sustain their achievements without fresh ideas and new approaches that are often brought in by new hires. Companies that foster innovation need not just highly skilled workforce; they need highly engaged employees – people who love to work there, who are motivated to be creative, and whose personal values fit well the organizational culture. Finding the “right” people for the organization is a challenge that goes through all stages of a recruitment process. However, if the initial step of generating applicants fails to bring these “right” people into the mix, the whole hiring process may prove fruitless.
It’s time to stop treating our creative thinkers like kooky grown-up children and start respecting the deep practice and education they bring to their work. It’s time to become one of them.
In an innovative culture, high cultural intelligence (CQ) is present, valued and nurtured. The economic demands on organizations to become laboratories of innovation will require workforces made up of individuals possessing high CQ. As high CQ becomes more and more valued, and in turn becomes part of business school training, the wider culture will begin to find greater flexibility along the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions over time.