You Are Your Own Best Advocate
Cameron Dawson manages change with creativity and grace
Cameron Dawson is Chief Market Strategist at Fieldpoint Private, a boutique private bank and wealth advisory firm. In an earlier part of her life, she was a professional dancer — until she was faced with a sudden change of plans. After graduating from the Crummer Graduate School of Business with her MBA in 2012, she had an eight-year career in the financial industry in New York City, serving as an equity analyst for Bank of America.
In this Q&A session with a panel of alumni and students from the Crummer Graduate School of Business, Cameron Dawson shares why her transition to Fieldpoint Private was so emotional, what she has learned about motivation in the pandemic, and how you can be your own best advocate.
This Q&A session is a follow-up to Cameron Dawson’s interview with J.B. Adams on the Crummer Connections podcast series. In the interview, she describes how ballet prepared her for business, how she broke into the financial scene in New York City, and how other professionals can “pay it forward.” Click here to read the full interview.
Part 1: Cameron Dawson’s Transition to Fieldpoint Private
J.B. Adams, MBA’11: You have some news for us. We spoke to you last summer and at the time you were working at Bank of America as an equity analyst. Can you tell us what has happened since we last spoke?
Cameron Dawson, MBA’12: Oh, goodness! The coolest thing ever. I had set a goal at the beginning of 2010. I actually wrote it down. I said, “In the next five years, I want to become a chief market strategist.” And in nine months it happened.
I have now transitioned into being the Chief Market Strategist for a smaller private wealth management private bank called Fieldpoint Private. It’s based in Connecticut and New York, but with an office in Orlando as well. I am participating in the direction of our investment decisions and the research that we put out, as well as our communication inside and outside of the firm. It is the job of my dreams! I feel like the luckiest person in the world. It’s funny because we talked about what my future career goals were on the last podcast, and I described literally this job to you. So I’m just thrilled and so excited for all the changes and opportunities that have come about in the last couple of months.
J.B. Adams: What are some of the things that you get to do in this new role?
Cameron Dawson: I get to write a lot. That’s a big component of the job, which is really communicating the views that we have about the market and really across the market — not just equities, but fixed income and commodities and currencies and macroeconomics and geopolitics, and encapsulate that in a coherent message that we can then share with our advisors and with our clients.
The next step is to take that communication and really expand it instead of just being in written form, but in podcasts and in news media. That’s really exciting for me because I was trying to figure out a way to tie in my dance background and performing and loving to be in front of people, and all of this work I had done in finance and developing these muscles and analytics and this experience working in the financial industry and in research. How was I going to marry the two? And that’s exactly what this is, because over time it becomes more and more public-facing. That, to me, is a huge challenge, a huge area for growth, which makes me really excited.
Regan Gunter, MBA’22: I’m also planning to concentrate in finance, so I was just wondering, what does your job look like on a day to day basis and what do you love most about it?
Cameron Dawson: My job on a day to day basis is first and foremost just being absolutely entrenched in what is going on in global markets. I read nonstop. I listen nonstop. My job never ends in the sense that I am always trying to absorb as much information as possible. Since I moved into this role, I’m reading a lot of books because there’s so much to learn and absorb. A lot of my job is then taking that information and putting it into a form that is digestible by our clients.
The next part is all of the machinations that go on behind the scenes of a private investment shop, which is working on things like asset allocation process — how do you go about doing capital market assumptions? How do you prepare for risks? What’s the best way to do securities selection on a larger scale? How do you do downside risk analysis? — all these things in different areas.
In my prior role I was very focused on one specific thing, and that was great because I got to cut my teeth and really refine those skills. Now, all of a sudden, my aperture has been blown wide open and I’m getting to put my hands into so many different areas and in the nuts and bolts of how wealth management is done — at the same time as all the really fun stuff like research and communication. No day is the same, but I’m also only about two months in so I’m sure there’ll be some stride that happens in time.
Kyle Sawyer, MBA’22: That’s a really tough decision to make, and it sounds like everything is working out fantastically for you. Congratulations on that. Did you learn anything from the process of making that move?
Cameron Dawson: Oh, yes, definitely. I cried a few times because it was an emotional process. I didn’t understand how emotional it would be. I thought, “It’s fine. This is a great opportunity. I’ll just look forward and move on.” I think that you have to be prepared going into a transition like this, that you are going to be emotional because you’re saying goodbye to a lot of people who have been a big part of your life. You need to have a certain amount of courage to get over that. There was that moment that I thought, “Oh, man, they’re saying I shouldn’t leave. Should I not leave?”
I had to say, “No, you made this decision. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. You cannot pass it up.”
Transitions and change are hard. I think embracing the fact that it was emotional was a good thing because then I was able to say to all the people who had been so helpful to me in my career at Bank of America: thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to consider a position like this at all if it hadn’t been for what they had done for me and what they taught me. So it’s good, but going through it is a lot.
Part 2: Managing Motivation and Encouraging Personal Growth
Clara Mount, MBA’20: A huge theme through everything you’ve talked about has been balancing that creative or artistic side with the academic rigor and constant learning. I’m curious what you’re doing now to make sure that you’re able to balance both sides.
Cameron Dawson: That is the one thing that I’m trying to do more of. When I first moved to New York, I had a one-track mind, focused only on finance and analytics. I really let that creative side of me sit on the backburner for a while. But I’ve found over the past few years, as I’ve been writing more and speaking more — communicating more — the ability to draw on that creative mindset is so powerful because I’m able to then make connections in ways that are different and interesting.
So I think it needs to be cultivated. For example, I may or may not have put a Spinal Tap reference in my notes that I wrote this morning. The creativity affords a level of playfulness and curiosity, and that is so important as a communicator.
The more that I progress in this role, the more I will become much more than just an analyst. I will be a communicator. So I need to find outlets and ways to nurture that spirit. And, you know, right now it’s hard. We’re all locked in our houses. Usually it comes in the form of me dancing around my house. But I think that it is so much a part of my soul and who I am that it will never die, and I need to continue to work at ways of just nurturing that creative energy. So if you have any suggestions…
Regan Gunter: You seem so highly motivated. What keeps you motivated on a daily basis?
Cameron Dawson: Motivation has been a challenge during the pandemic. I’m getting my work done, but I’ve learned a really important lesson about motivation, which is that it’s not static — it ebbs and flows. When every day is exactly the same, like it was during lockdown, there is no novelty in what you’re doing. For example, I like to do a lot of yoga and keep that physical balance as well with the work. There would be days where I would start and try to move. I’d get on the mat and I’d be facedown and go, “I can’t do it. I have no motivation to do it.”
You have to be patient with yourself to know that motivation ebbs and flows and to take advantage of the times when you’re really feeling it and the motivation is high. Then in the times when it is low, figure out ways to to take care of yourself. One of the things that I highly recommend to most people is to keep a bullet journal. I keep a very detailed journal every day about everything that I’m doing — all my work tasks, but also what I did during the day, what I was feeling. It’s really helpful on the motivation front because it helps me track what’s going on in my head.
So when I go into those times when my motivation feels lower than I would like it to be, I can have better self-reflection and figure out what I need to do to get to the other side. [Motivation] is not a constant state. It is ever-changing. And I think an awareness of that — an appreciation of that — puts a little bit less pressure on you and frees you up from saying, “Why don’t I just have boundless energy every single day?” It’s because I’m human.
Gerardo Abril, MBA’20: Do you think there’s a difference between doing it on your phone versus an actual journal?
Cameron Dawson: Oh, I’m analog. There’s something about the “user interface” of having a freeform journal, which is what bullet journaling is. There are no set days and it’s sort of creative. Maybe that’s the answer to my creative question! You can design the journal in any way that you want. It is really powerful that you’re not just interacting with a set interface that says, “Insert this here and there.” And it gives you a break from your phone to actually write. It feels good. I have my journal with me at all times. So I think the actual analog version of it is one of the most powerful things about it.
J.B. Adams: Is there a book that is particularly significant to you in terms of your growth and development? What’s the message that really gets across to you?
Cameron Dawson: We could talk for hours about books! On personal development, there’s a few books that jump out that might feel a bit crunchier, and some have some sales pitches in them, but they were actually quite helpful to me in reframing my relationship with my thoughts and were quite empowering. One of them is called The Code of the Extraordinary Mind [by Vishen Lakhiani]. The book that accompanies the bullet journal — it’s called The Bullet Journal Method [by Ryder Carroll] — is a stealth self-help book, but it’s fantastic. Then there’s another really simple book, assessing how you think and how that impacts the way you experience your life. It’s called The Big Leap [by Gay Hendricks]. Those are three good ones for helping get back to more empowering thoughts.
For people who want finance books: More Money Than God [by Sebastian Mallaby] is fantastic for the history of hedge funds. The Lords of Finance [by Liaquat Ahamed] is a great one about central bankers during the Great Depression. I just finished Quinn and Turner’s Boom and Bust this morning. That’s a fantastic book about financial bubbles. The last one, The Rise of Carry [by Lee, Lee, and Coldiron], is probably the most fascinating book I’ve read all year. It’s about the inherent weaknesses in the financial system as carry traits have proliferated into everything that we do. That’s a real fun one.
J.B. Adams: Cameron Dawson, more than anyone I know, you can make books about finance sound fascinating.
Cameron Dawson: Because it is fascinating. It is fascinating.
Part 3: Being Your Own Best Advocate
Kyle Sawyer: A lot of entertainment jobs can be difficult to break into: acting, dancing, singing, etc. I actually pursued film production a little bit before I chose to get my MBA. I’m not suggesting that listeners give up on their dreams by any means — I feel like that’s so important — but what do you think is a sign that someone should move on to pursue other opportunities? When should they stick with it?
Cameron Dawson: See what brings you energy. You’ve probably done the Myers-Briggs analysis already, and one of the things is introvert versus extrovert. That doesn’t mean “I like to be around people” or “I don’t like to be around people.” The nuance there is actually: “Where do I get my energy? Do I get energy by being around people or do I get energy by having my alone time?”
When I was making the decision in my career of whether I would pursue this market strategist role, which is by definition more outward facing, more communicative, more engaging with people, which would be more extroverted — or do I go down the path of becoming a long/short hedge fund equity trader, which would be little engagement with people and sitting at a desk? I realized that the days that I was out in front of people and communicating with them and on the phone or doing presentations, I had boundless energy. The days where I was stuck behind my desk, working on a model, reading something, I was exhausted. Not that I don’t like that process, but I found that I gained my energy from activity that was different from the sector analyst role.
So I decided to make a very controversial move. All my friends, when I told them this is what I want to do: “Are you crazy? Why would you walk away from the opportunities that you could have if you took a role like this?”
I said, “Because I know me. I’m never going to be happy behind a desk.”
I had to learn that from taking a deep self-assessment about where I felt the energy. So what I would say is that when you are doing your work, if it is not bringing you energy, then it’s worth assessing to say, “Can I change something? Can I tweak the dials to make it so that my activities would be more empowering to me?” If the answer is no, then maybe it is worth reassessing [your career] and shocking people by a decision to go in a completely different direction. And gosh! It can be so exciting because it introduces novelty into your life, and novelty can be extremely energizing.
Clara Mount: Did you ever doubt yourself when you were changing direction? And if you did, how did you manage that?
Cameron Dawson: All the time! The self-doubt comes in not just in changing direction, but often, and you’ll have to fight it a lot. There was an article out on Bloomberg yesterday that said women are less likely to be promoted because they are more likely to have to ask for a promotion, whereas men are often given promotions. And at the same time, women are less likely to want to ask for promotion.
I had fantastic advice from a mentor who has spent years in finance and is very, very successful. She’s just this powerful woman. I was telling her how I really wanted a promotion and I thought that I earned it, and I was having a meeting with my boss the next day. She said, “Go home tonight and write down a list of every accomplishment that you’ve had in the last year — all the ones that you can find — and put numbers to them if you can.
I walked in with that list and all of a sudden, all that doubt that I had went away. I slapped the paper down on the desk and I said, “If this isn’t deserving of that title, then tell me what is.”
I would have never thought of that myself. I mean, the idea of self-promotion seems almost anathema to me, but it was empowering. It helped me reflect on all the things that I’ve already accomplished and realize, “Yes, I am deserving of this title and yes, I should fight for it.” And I did. And that set off a chain of events that then put me in the place where I am today.
You are your own best advocate. Sometimes what you have to do is sit down and write out the things you’ve accomplished, and even write out the things that you would have liked to accomplish. Keep yourself honest. That’s one of the reasons why I do the journal, because it keeps me honest. If I haven’t hit my goals, then I need to do something about that, but you’ve probably accomplished a heck of a lot more than you think you have. You deserve to stand up for yourself.
Putting something on paper can also be really effective because they go, “If she’s showing this to me, she could be showing this to any other potential employer. She could be showing this to another person on another team.” I think it’s a worthwhile activity, and I’m extremely grateful to the mentor who showed me how to do it.
The Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida is consistently ranked as the number one MBA in the state of Florida. Crummer offers a variety of educational programs to prepare students to become global, innovative, responsible, business leaders.
Special thanks to our student and alumni panel for participating in this Q&A session:
Kyle Sawyer, MBA’22
Regan Gunter, MBA’22
Clara Mount, MBA’20
Gerardo Abril, MBA’20
J.B. Adams, MBA’11
