I was asked to complete this survey in preparation to become a trained ICEdge instructor as part of my job duties in a higher ed setting. I found the survey helpful in thinking about my strengths, challenges, and ways I might address these challenges. Because I occasionally work in very different cultural settings and flex to meet different expectations, I often responded with "neither agree nor disagree" and wondered how that would play out in the results. The tool pointed out ways in which my seeming "neutrality" comes with strengths and challenges that I have felt but can now articulate better thanks to the results. The recommendations for addressing challenges display a bias toward business settings and can't fully account for all work settings or situations. However, they can serve as an excellent starting point for reflection and discussion with colleagues about how to collaborate effectively across differences within and beyond a given unit or team. The icEdge website states that comparative profiles will be rolled out later this year (2019), and I look forward to comparing my results within other demographics such as national cultural groups, race, gender (the tool helpfully elicits demographic info for more than binary gender), age, etc. Not least, I can envision using this tool with teams in various settings, with students preparing to study in new cultural contexts, and even with students studying language. If integrated into discussions and reflections, it can help build self awareness, other awareness, emotional resilience, and the ability to bridge cultural differences. 

In comparison to a similar instrument, the Intercultural Conflict Styles Inventory, icEdge is more costly but offers a number of advantages. For one, the constructs measured and their theoretical basis are much more robust, so that you get a wide spectrum of communication styles measured that includes but is not limited to how you communicate during conflicts. The feedback in the written report is excellent for assessment as learning - it makes an excellent pedagogical tool to increase self-awareness and cultural worldview frameworks, and it offers developmental suggestions tailored to individual results. What I loved most about it, though, is the interactive website. It is very engaging to be able to click around and not only explore individual results and what their implications, but also to be able to see those individual results in light of a larger group. So insightful for team-building, adaptation across cultures for study abroad and international students, business/governmental/non-profit expats, and other sojourners!