The article first appeared in Business Matters with Massey – July 2023 Edition. Read the original article here: Cultural Intelligence Helps Veterans Re-adjustment to Civilian Life.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are several common challenges experienced by military personnel during the process of re-adjustment to civilian life. Thus, in this article, we will look at 5 major challenges faced by the U.S. military personnel and how developing Cultural Intelligence will help overcome these challenges and successfully re-adjust to civilian life.
Military Culture
In my conversations with active-duty military personnel and veterans, I learned that the military has its own unique culture with distinct norms, values, beliefs, and attitudes toward time and work. For example, it has its language, slang, and abbreviations. The U.S. is commonly called a melting pot, the military is a true representation of that expression. People who come from different backgrounds and ways of life, people with different cultures because of their ethnicity, geographic region, religion, etc. are assimilating to the new to them military culture. This military culture is ingrained in their mind after several years of service. Thus, Coming back to the U.S. culture and assimilating to what might seem like a new way of living might be challenging. Cultural Intelligence, or our ability to function effectively in diverse environments, helps military personnel to address the challenges and successfully re-adjust to civilian life.
1. Relating to people who do not know or understand what military personnel have experienced.
-
- Developing Metacognitive Cultural Intelligence will allow military personnel to enhance their abilities to acquire the knowledge to better understand others. Thus, they will be able to adjust mental models and schemas to be able to absorb knowledge about other people who have different experiences and backgrounds (civilians) including values, norms, beliefs, attitudes toward time and work, etc. Metacognitive Cultural Intelligence will help military personnel to better relate to people and re-adjust to civilian life.
2. Joining or creating a community.
When someone separates from the military, military personnel, and families must adjust to a new lifestyle. This process might be challenging considering that during the service military helps military personnel and families with the adjustment process. However, Cultural Intelligence can help military personnel to make needed adjustments.
-
- Developing Motivational Cultural Intelligence will help military personnel be more willing to learn about people with different backgrounds (e.g., civilians), their norms, values, beliefs, attitudes, etc.
- Developing Metacognitive Cultural Intelligence will allow military personnel to develop abilities to acquire the knowledge to better understand others. They will be able to adjust mental models and schemas to be able to absorb knowledge about other people who have different experiences and backgrounds (civilians) including values, norms, beliefs, attitudes toward time and work, etc.
- Developing Behavioral Cultural Intelligence will allow military personal effectively interact with others. They will be able to adjust their verbal and non-verbal behaviors and communication style to display appropriate behavior and better fit the civilian interaction.
- Developing Cognitive Cultural Intelligence will allow military personnel to acquire actual knowledge of the norms, practices, and conventions of other people.
Thus, the development of all 4 components of Cultural Intelligence can help military personnel to join the civilian community and better re-adjust to civil life.
3. Preparing to enter the workforce.
The workforce in the U.S. is becoming more diverse. There are expectations from the employer that future employees will be able to successfully accomplish assigned tasks and operate in this diverse environment. However, if not prepared, employees might face challenges such as tensions, conflict, perceptual problems (e.g., use of stereotypes), unconscious/implicit biases, miscommunication, misinterpretations, different perceptions of time, different attitudes towards work, etc.
-
- Developing Cultural Intelligence (all 4 dimensions) or abilities to function effectively in diverse environments, will allow military personnel to minimize or eliminate these issues and prepare for a successful career in the current diverse environment of the private sector business.
4. Adjusting to a different pace of life and work.
In a private sector business, civilians have different attitudes toward work and time. If in the military, personnel does not leave until the mission is complete, civilians might need to stop working and go home at 5 pm. Moreover, there is a new focus on mental health and well-being in the private sector business. Employees might have more flexible work hours with different starting and ending times which will appear more ambiguous and not structured to military personnel.
-
-
- Developing Cultural Intelligence (all 4 dimensions) will allow military personnel successfully adjust to changes in the structure of the workday and life, better understand and adjust to the attitudes toward work and time civilians have within their organization, and overall, better adjust to a different pace of life and work, thus, better re-adjust to civilian life.
-
I identified another major challenge during my extensive conversations with the veterans from various armed forces of the United States:
5. The difference in communication style
The difference in communication styles between military and civilians presents additional challenges for re-adjustment to civilian life. Military personnel tends to have a direct communication style. Many civilians might not respond positively to this type of communication, they might feel offended, or feel disrespected. This style might be perceived as rude and inconsiderate.
- Developing Behavioral Cultural Intelligence, or the ability to effectively interact with others, will allow military personnel to adjust their verbal and non-verbal behaviors and communication style to display appropriate behavior and better fit the civilian interaction.
Conclusion:
Developing Cultural Intelligence through the Inclusive Intelligence Experience (IIE) for the Military, developed by SAVA Consulting Group, military personnel can develop a proactive strategy that helps to:
- addresses 5 major challenges experienced by military personnel during re-adjustment to civilian life
- develop the active skill that allows military personnel to adapt and adjust to continuously changing environments.
Military personnel can continue enhancing Cultural Intelligence by using methods and techniques developed during the IIE.
