Leading across international boundaries can be challenging.

For business leaders in an increasingly global, 24/7 environment, running a team is no longer about engaging, inspiring and motivating people in the same building, town or even country. Today, a team is likely to be both multi-lingual and multi-cultural, as well as located across different time zones and markets.

With an international staff spread across 16 countries, Lois Nahirney, Teekay’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Resources, has a real HR challenge on her hands.

In a recent interview with Hays, a worldwide recruiting firm, Lois spoke about the challenges of global leadership. “We’re constantly thinking about how to make our people feel connected to the global organization while retaining what’s special locally. We have a matrix structure and try to set out core global guidelines, but we ensure that we respect local cultures and have a balance,” she adds.

For more on Teekay's perspective on global human resources management, read the full interview in the Hays Journal.