Noah is a senior manager at a multinational durable products manufacturing company. He has recently been assigned the task of visiting the company's subsidiaries in other countries to assess their performance and improve business ties. Noah is a little nervous about this assignment since he has never been to another country on a business agenda and has very little exposure to foreign cultures. If you were Noah's boss, what advice would you provide him?

Noah has to improve his cultural intelligence in order to perform his task efficiently. Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to an outsider's ability to interpret someone's unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person's compatriots would. It has three facets or components:
a. Cognitive CQ (head)
b. Physical CQ (body)
c. Emotional/motivational CQ (heart)
There are certain success factors in international management positions that need to be carefully analyzed. A study was conducted of success factors in international management positions. Two traits were specifically related to success in conducting international business: sensitivity to cultural differences and being culturally adventurous. Cultural sensitivity refers to an awareness of and a willingness to investigate the reasons why people of another culture act as they do. The adventurous aspect refers to a willingness to take chances and experiment with a new culture.
Being able to read emotions is particularly helpful when evaluating how well the person from another culture is accepting your propositions. Tolerance for ambiguity is important for leaders in general, and especially important for developing global leadership skills. Every country he or she works in represents a new way of doing things, so the leadership has to work with only general guidelines.