Culturally Competent Counterfeit: Disengaged

Cultural Competence is rooted in appreciation of difference. Maslow described this character as “democratic values.” He sought to describe individuals who possessed openness to ethnic and individual variety.

I reinterpret Maslow’s observations, and rename this character cultural competence. Cultural competence maintains the openness to difference and adds an intentional support of complementary relationships. In addition to valuing the contributions of others, cultural competence presupposes an awareness of the deficits in yourself and the deficits in those you would collaborate with.

The counterfeit of cultural competence is the disengaged character. As a disengaged individual, you lack a connection between your deficits and abilities and the deficits and abilities of the other. You are not interested enough in the other to explore mutual benefit that can result in increased capacity for the other. Often, your calculation is a one-sided recognition of what the other can provide to you. You expect that the other should be happy to be included in your plans. Without an open discussion of needs and contributions clearly shared among the group, you diminish the practical incentives toward collaboration. When participants voice deficit needs, you rethink the wisdom of the collaboration and may seek separation.

People initially see you as a ready collaborator and a gracious host. But, your true character is displayed when your goals are threatened by the deficits of the others. You begin to question the collaboration and the commitment of the others. You state, “I tried to include them, but it didn’t work out.” You have nothing but “good” things to say about failed collaborators, but the compliments are back-handed and evidence your disengagement more than the failures of the other.

To be truly culturally competent is to realize that partnership is a sharing of destiny and history. The vigor and interest typically experienced in the initial convening activity should include assessment of deficits and historical development in addition to the goals of the current collaboration.

Realize that the other may not be aware of the deficits and solutions. Your commitment in collaboration is to contribute to solutions by informing yourself of the needs of the other and maintaining reflectiveness about how you advanced to the position you currently inhabit.

An opportunity exists for you and me to help each other achieve. We can help each other identify deficits and solutions that we would not have identified in isolation and could not have solved alone.