Biggest Challenges Faced By A Founder And CEO At Konnekted Coworking
Nickolaus, Founder & CEO of Konnekted Coworking, identifies "focus" as the biggest challenge in his current role, largely due to ADHD and the constant need to prioritize competing demands; the interviewee further speculates that for CEOs with families, "time management and focus" become paramount, highlighting the crucial balance between career demands and personal life.
Executive/Leadership, Overcoming Challenges, Time Management, Focus, Work-Life Balance
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nickolaus Violin
Founder & CEO
Konnekted Coworking
Cal State Northridge, 2017
UCAL Anderson | MBA
Marketing
Hospitality, Restaurants & Events, Real Estate
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Focus and prioritization are crucial for success, especially when managing multiple tasks and responsibilities. Nickolaus highlights the constant need to decide what demands immediate attention and what can be delegated or postponed.
2. Building and maintaining a strong team is essential, but as the team grows, challenges in aligning vision and culture increase. This emphasizes the importance of effective leadership and communication skills.
3. Work-life balance is a significant consideration for high-level professionals. Nickolaus discusses how his priorities might shift if he had a family, suggesting the need for careful time management and prioritization to avoid neglecting personal responsibilities.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
Focus is the biggest challenge, primarily because of my ADHD. There's so much to do, and having to choose what's most important to get done right this second or to put next on the list is difficult. I'd say that's the biggest challenge because there is a lot, and it's all important. It's just a matter of deciding what's most important right now.
Sometimes I have to choose between physically going to a site today and then working extra late tonight to catch up on communications. Or I consider if the site visit isn't that important and can wait. I'd say those are probably my biggest challenges.
I put together a great team, so luckily, my team is not a challenge. Making sure they're working and being productive isn't a challenge for me; they're a great team. I know that as the team expands, the more people you deal with, the more challenges you have in keeping everyone within the same vision and culture. Absolutely, focus is definitely mine.
If I had to guess, and this is for anybody watching this, if I had a family, that would maybe change what my biggest challenge is. So for anyone out there who has a family or is thinking about this, I'd say the biggest challenge when you have other people in your life to worry about would be time management and focus.
You don't want to realize it's nine o'clock and you didn't spend any time with your kids or anything like that. The stuff you spent the last three hours of your day on could have waited. I'd say that's pretty important to someone who has a family and other people.
I have a cat, so while he loves it when I come home, he's fine without me. If I'm sitting in the office for 12 or 16 hours during the day and he's sitting by me, he's fine. It's not like having young kids or a significant other.
That's something to keep in mind if you're in a different situation and thinking of a CEO or high-level position. Making sure you can get that balance for the other things that are important in your life. For any CEO, those are probably the two biggest challenges: focus and time management of your priorities.