Even the most seasoned can sometimes let their cultural intelligence slip. When we are under stress or pressure we tend to revert back to our default setting – or what we deem to be normal, natural and acceptable.
This happened recently when Fedrica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was holding a joint press conference with the Jordanian Foreign Minister in Amman, on 22 March 2016 – the same day that three coordinated terrorism bombings shook her capital city Brussels.
As Mogherini started to speak about terrorism and the attacks that hit Brussels only a few hours earlier, she became emotional, broke into tears, and quickly decided that she could not continue with the press conference. Her Jordanian host, standing a few feet away, wanted to show his empathy and respect so he moved closer and put out his arm. Mogherini then reacted in the natural way that is acceptable and customary in her culture, she tried to hug her counterpart and put her head on his shoulder. In that moment of emotional stress, it appeared to slip her mind that she was actually in an Arab and Islamic country where physical contact with the opposite sex in a public and professional setting is considered inappropriate. She reverted to her default setting and temporarily forgot about her cultural intelligence.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Naser Judeh, appeared to be fully aware of the dynamics of the whole situation. I could see the dilemma on his face. My assumption is that he wanted to be polite and compassionate and wanted to comfort his guest – who was emotionally distraught after hearing the horrible news about what was happening in her country – yet at the same time he was acutely aware that he is standing on a stage in front of a room full of Jordanian, Arab and international journalists in Amman with all their cameras focused on his every move and reaction. I believe he understood well that those journalists will not excuse any behaviour that appears to cross any lines that have been etched by his Arab and Islamic culture. The whole situation lasted no more than a few seconds, and I think he handled it with skill and awareness – probably saving himself from a field day some local news websites would have had on his behalf.
The point is that even the most seasoned can sometimes forget when under stress or emotional pressure. The public will tend to forgive the foreigners, but will rarely cut the same slack for their own.
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