U.S. Military’s Unsung Cultural Heroes: Warrior-Diplomats Command Soft Power

Yellow Springs, OH, March 15, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Highly skilled “warrior-diplomats” quietly learn about new cultures and build strategic relationships by using 7 key strategies that play to their individual strengths, Drs. Louise Rasmussen and Winston Sieck of Global Cognition report in the March-April issue of Military Review. The learning practices of these cross-cultural experts provide a template to educate others.

“There are members of the US military today who are extremely culture-savvy,” says Dr. Rasmussen. “They are especially resourceful in how they learn and deal with cultural challenges.” The findings suggest that cross-cultural expertise is not associated with a certain personality type. Instead, there are teachable practices that enable anyone to engage in constructive behaviors in foreign cultures.

Rasmussen and her team interviewed U.S. personnel who had a track record of rapidly attaining proficiency in a variety of new cultures. By analyzing their most challenging experiences interacting with people overseas, the team distilled 7 common strategies that made the warrior-diplomats effective in new cultures. “Interacting with people who are different is stressful,” Rasmussen says. “Having strategies for learning about other cultures reduces the uncertainty and improves interactions.”