Discover more about the faces behind our deals! This showcase: our Operations Manager, Ken Johnson.
Ken received his BS from the University of Pittsburgh in Business Administration and has been working at Colliers for almost two years. His enthusiastic attitude, innate problem solving ability, and inclusive leadership style makes him an invaluable asset to our team, and we are so grateful for all of his dedication and efforts!
What initially drew you to a career in the commercial real estate world/how did you end up at Colliers?
Honestly, it was kind of a fluke – I had recently left an Operations role at a completely unrelated company, and I happened upon a job post for Colliers. I started reading more about who they were, what they did, and what their values are, and it started to click pretty quickly for me that this was a great company. After my first interview, I remember thinking how cool it all seemed, and by the end of the second interview I was absolutely sold. A year and a half later, here I am! And there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about how great of a fluke it ended up being. for the commercial real estate industry, leading to a seamless transition into my role at Colliers.
What do you find most rewarding about working at Colliers/in CRE?
Working at Colliers is great, and I think for me it all comes down to collaboration – our office is built around the fundamental idea of succeeding as a group is just as important (if not more so) than individual success, and I think it’s an incredibly powerful dynamic. Working with a group of people that you can not only trust but that you know are actively invested in each other’s success creates a really positive environment, and that’s something that can frankly be tough to find in a lot of industries and companies, particularly in a genuine form.
Can you share a funny or memorable moment that happened during your time at Colliers?
I remember during my first month or two, one of our brokers (shout out to Cody Hunt) invited me to come check out Wampum Underground with him – I had driven past it plenty of times at a prior job but had never actually been inside. Suffice to say, it was awesome – the space is utterly unique, and getting to see some of the use cases people have found for it was incredibly interesting. I think something really clicked for me there and got me from the mindset of “it’s just buildings” to “wow, this is actually pretty cool”. (Note – this post has not been sponsored by Wampum Underground or Totum Realty, but I’ll always accept an invite to check out awesome spaces!)
In your opinion, what is the key to building a great work environment/culture?
It’s hard to narrow it down to any one individual action or trait, but I think building a great culture and environment is all about leading by example and constant small scale course corrections. I think self-awareness and a willingness to look at what you’re doing through a critical lens is important too – we’ve all seen companies that say “we’re like family” or “our culture is great”, only for the “family” to be that weird 2nd cousin who stole your wallet and the ”culture” to be a shot for shot remake of “Mean Girls”, and I think a lot of that stems from leaders who are unwilling to accept criticism or feedback. Another big component is authenticity – it’s a lot easier to build a great culture when you genuinely want people to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled as opposed to being solely concerned about appearances. Or, in other words, “be excellent to each other.”
Stay up to date with Ken on LinkedIn, as well as the rest of our office on our socials!
Colliers' Pittsburgh Office 