Culturally Bound: Developing Interculturally Competent Leaders

Developing interculturally competent leaders can be a challenge. This presentation will describe a new professional’s journey in utilizing an intercultural competency assessment tool called the Intercultural Development Inventory with over 100 student leaders and how she navigated the learning curve in working with students who have minimal exposure to culture.

Culture is central to our everyday lives, but we may not notice it if we’re not engaging with it and intentionally reflecting on cultural differences and similarities between ourselves and others. This live briefing will provide participants an overview about the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) assessment tool and its use in helping student leaders develop more intercultural competency. The IDI assessment is a nationally used assessment that breaks down a student's level of intercultural competency into five main stages on a continuum and provides students with a personal plan for increasing their intercultural competency. This assessment has been an instrumental framework for which to spark diversity and cultural conversations with over 100 student leaders.

Furthermore, this presentation will provide tips on how professionals can maximize their professional development in a particular area to better serve the needs of their student leaders, while enhancing collaborations with campus partners. The IDI is just one effective tool for increasing intercultural competency in our students.

Learning Outcomes

By attending this session, participants will be able to:

• identify strategies for helping student leaders build their intercultural competency;
• learn about the Intercultural Development Inventory assessment tool and its benefits;
• gain insight as to how to develop better campus partner relations; and
• be intentional in their own professional development and apply their skill sets to their student leader development.