Sarah M. Dillon

International business researcher & practitioner, based in Brisbane, Australia.

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Certification: Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Facilitator

I recently had the pleasure of gaining certification as a Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Facilitator. CQ is a globally recognised, evidence-based capability that goes beyond cultural sensitivity and awareness to provide an effective research-backed approach to improving the way individuals adapt, work and relate across cultures and culturally diverse situations.

The benefits of CQ in business include increased effectiveness, speed and efficiency in multicultural and/or global teams, and ultimately, success in culturally diverse markets. As testament to this, CQ is used as a recruitment and development tool among management and employees within organisations as diverse as global healthcare company Novartis, world airline representatives the International Air Transport Association, Harvard University in the USA, and Qatar Airlines.

While there are many measures of cross-cultural intelligence, this certification focusses only on the only scale to have withstood a high degree of validation across multiple settings and contexts. The scale and certification is administered by the Cultural Intelligence Centre, drawing on 20 years of peer-reviewed empirical studies on over 125,000 individuals across 100+ countries.

I see this rigor as a unique and genuine asset for organisations and individuals considering how best to make their way in an increasing globalised world. Combined with my understanding of the wider research around cross-cultural competences and my international business experience, my CQ certification gives me a valuable set of tools to facilitate the development of cultural intelligence amongst others. I look forward to applying what I have learned in my role as a Sessional Academic at QUT, in particular as Coordinator for the units AMB120 Bridging Cultures and AMB390 Bridging Cultures (International).

Marketing Internationally: Teaching

This advanced unit built on postgraduate students’ knowledge and skills to apply business theories and marketing frameworks to strategically respond to the challenges and opportunities faced by international marketers today. As a member of the teaching team in 2018, I was responsible for delivering weekly tutorials to support the content delivered in the unit lectures, as well as grading student assignments and conducting student consultations.

A particular strength of this unit was that it provided an opportunity for students to formulate a culturally-considered, competitive, and evidence-based marketing strategy for an actual Australian brand undergoing expansion into a specific international market. Guest speakers included international Trade Commissioners and expert marketing practitioners in a range of fields. Students appreciated engaging with a real-life client brief in this manner, and frequently commented on how useful and applicable the unit was.

I thoroughly enjoyed being involved with such a successful and relevant unit.

Entrepreneurship for Translators & Interpreters: Invited Talk

I developed and delivered a talk recently on Entrepreneurship for Translators & Interpreters: Strategies from the academic literature“. It came about after an invitation to speak at this year’s Australian Society of Interpreters and Translators (Queensland Branch) Conference in Brisbane. My aim was to inspire and motivate my audience to consider how they could proactively manage their businesses and careers in the face of rapid industry and technological change.

It was my first time addressing my erstwhile peers since my transition into a ‘new’ career as a doctoral researcher & academic. I was keen to integrate some of the insights I’d gleaned from my academic readings in the area of international business and entrepreneurship. Given empirically-based academic articles in these fields can draw on data from hundreds of businesses, it seemed like a worthwhile endeavour. It’s not easy to pitch the academy to practitioners, but as a former translator myself, I was counting using this experience to make the abstract tangible.

I wasn’t entirely certain how the session would work, but I was pretty happy with how it went in the end. I sense this topic has legs, and certainly my talk has scope for further refinement. I’m hoping another opportunity will arise in the future to enable me to develop it further.

Bridging Cultures: Teaching

This well-regarded and successful undergraduate unit enhances students’ awareness, understanding, sensitivity and ability to deal with people from a range of different cultural backgrounds. Such skills and attitudes are crucial in increasingly globalised work settings. As a member of the teaching team, I am responsible for delivering weekly tutorials to support the content delivered in the unit lectures, as well as grading student assignments and conducting student consultations.

A particular strength of this unit is that it provides theoretical frameworks for interpreting differences in cultural behaviour, as well as skills and strategies to help respond appropriately and effectively in culturally different situations. Students appreciate such tangible take-aways, and frequently comment on how useful and applicable this approach is.

We tend to see three types of students enrolled in this unit: students with an interest in intercultural communication, students who are learning or have learned a second language, and students who are inbound or outbound on international study exchanges. As such, our tutorials are lively and interesting, with high levels of engagement all around.

I’m delighted to be involved with such a successful and important unit.

PhD Milestone: Confirmation

Doctoral study at my university requires candidates to successfully pass through three main milestones: a ‘Stage 2 Proposal‘ around three months after admission, when the research proposal is bedded down; a ‘Confirmation Seminar and Report‘ around 12 months in, when the bulk of the literature review is presented to a panel of examiners, to justify the proposed research design and potential contribution in your work; and lastly, a Final Seminar, which takes place just before the thesis is submitted for examination.

I’ve just passed Confirmation, which tells me I’m more or less on track with my research. The feedback from my committee was incredibly helpful, and I can see my research project will be stronger for having passed through this useful process.

My next steps are to submit an ethics application to the University Human Research Ethics Committee. Once the committee are satisfied that my project meets a series of rigorous requirements in line with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, I’ll be able to move on to the next stage: data collection.

Last week’s Business by Twilight event at QUT Business School included a fun session to try out some useful techniques for designing innovative customer-centric experiences. The takeaways were practical and insightful, and although the session was geared towards service design, I could definitely see the implications for idea generation more broadly.

I especially enjoyed interacting with local business practitioners, and the evening format lent a relaxed, informal air to things. It was also an opportunity to see social marketing expert Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett and PwC’s Innovation and Disruption Manager Anna Dixon in action.

Upcoming Business by Twilight events will be announced on QUT Business School’s event page.

PwC’s Anna Dixon

QUT Business School’s Prof Rebekah Russell-Bennett