Pitt Business e-newsletter Issue 12, November 2008
The Exponential Power of Coaching
Leader, mentor, coach, successful executive-these terms describe recent Executive MBA (EMBA) graduate Vern Cameron and those who work with Cameron know this well. He is a professional who defines his own success by the achievements of the people he has mentored, watching them gain confidence as they take on a project, asking the right questions to empower employees to find the answer for themselves, and witnessing their professional success. Cameron's aptitude for coaching and mentoring is not something that one learns in the classroom, but a competence that great leaders possess.
Cameron is a 2008 graduate of the EMBA program at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. During the vigorous 19 month program, Cameron was promoted twice, taking on new roles and responsibilities each time. He is now vice president of global marketing for the Advanced Materials Solutions Group (AMSG) with financial responsibilities totaling $950 million at Kennametal Inc., located in Latrobe, Pa.
Cameron attended Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada where he realized that the best way to expedite his future plans of being in a leadership role was to study accounting. He envisioned his future to include leading and strategizing and delivering results by motivating a team of individuals to work together to reach goals. This vision paved a great path starting at KPMG International as a tax manager, and moving into positions such as Canadian regional president at Sandvik Tamrock, moving to the United States to take on the role of vice president and general manager for drilling solutions consumables at Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited, and then transitioning to Kennametal, where he is currently developing long-term strategies for the AMSG division.
Although Cameron has achieved great success in his career-attaining profitability for a business unit within a year, becoming a vice president of finance at the age of 26, as well as increasing market share and improving cash flow in a number of roles-he will tell you that he considers his greatest achievement to be the success of those he has mentored. Cameron's priority is in helping people deliver their own potential. As he puts it, "I enjoy working with people to help them realize where they want to go and coach them through the path of change to get there, thereby reaching their real potential."
Cameron has been a proponent of EMBA and has encouraged one of his employees, Steve Ross, who is director of rods, engineered products Asia sales for Kennametal, to pursue the degree as part of his development. Ross says its not only him who benefits from Cameron's mentoring, but after putting Cameron's coaching style into action, his whole team is reaping the benefits. "Vern practices coaching very effectively and he taught me effective coaching through coaching me," Ross said. "Before learning the coaching process from Vern, I would listen to a problem from a team member and then tell them the solution I thought best. Now, I listen to the problem and start asking questions that lead the person through a thought process to arrive at their own best solution." He went on to explain, "The unique advantage of coaching someone is that not only is it their own solution, but after a few coaching sessions, people say, 'I remembered the questions you asked me the last time and I thought through it myself.' But perhaps the most powerful benefit of coaching is that I see managers that report directly to me learning the coaching process from me and using it with their direct reports. So, the power of coaching is exponential in the impact it can have on an organization. Cameron's coaching leadership is having such an effect on our organization."
This is just one example of how the things a good leader does on a daily basis truly have an effect on the people around them. Cameron is a firm believer in surrounding one's self with successful people and believes that the quality of the interactions and conversations that one has with colleagues impact performance. An individual needs to change their behavior in order to become better and Cameron subscribes to the philosophy "Leadership is selflessness and self-awareness."
"The Katz School has given me the opportunity for a unique and outstanding international education fueled by an excellent cast of professors," Cameron said. He welcomed the challenges that professors placed in front him and he believes that the EMBA degree will benefit his career progression. Cameron continues to lead his team into the challenges that their industry faces and looks forward to facing each obstacle and attaining each goal. Cameron would like to contribute to the education of future leaders and plans to fill the role of professor one day. For now, Cameron would like to educate others in his current role-mentoring his employees, and celebrating the success they have achieved by arriving at solutions on their own.
