01/15/2026
What happens when you treat cultural competence as a temporary "fix" rather than a core leadership skill? In the military, it leads to mission failure. In business, it leads to market failure.
A recent research article (https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=148538) argues that cross-cultural competence is a distinct, essential leadership capability that military leaders will increasingly require in the 21st century. According to the author, Dan Henk, the U.S. military has historically relied on LREC (Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture). This is the "knowing about" part: learning the language, memorizing the map, and studying the history of a specific region. But Henk argues that this isn't enough. The missing piece is cross-cultural competence.
The ability to accurately interpret complex cultural cues and respond effectively in unfamiliar cultural environments is essential for military and business leaders alike. More than memorizing the etiquette of one country (Dos + Don'ts), cross-cultural competence is a "culture-general" skillset: the ability to enter any unfamiliar environment, recognize human behavioral patterns, suspend judgment, and adapt your strategy in real-time. Beyond technical expertise this requires self-awareness, cognitive flexibility, empathy, perspective taking, and the discipline to manage ambiguity.
This matters because modern military operations are no longer defined solely by maneuver, combat, and logistics. They are shaped by coalition partners, host-nation forces, civilian populations, NGOs, political actors, and interagency coordination. Misreading cultural signals increases risk, erodes trust, and can undermine mission success โ even when tactical ex*****on is sound.
As a consequence, professional military education needs to include cross-cultural competence as critical skill-building. Last year, we had the opportunity to contribute to this by facilitating a cross-cultural training program for the NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support in Philadelphia.
As the military looks at the future of PME and force modernization, leadership should be advised to stop viewing culture as a "soft skill" for Civil Affairs or Foreign Area Officers. This can be a core lethality and readiness issue. If O-5s and O-6s cannot navigate the "gray zone" of human interoperability without a script, our armed forces are ceding the advantage.
For those shaping policy, doctrine, and leader development across the armed forces, the question is: How intentionally are we developing cross-cultural competence in our leaders before they are required to rely on it in high-stakes environments?
