Terri-Anne Crawford reflects on her career and shares her keys to success

On December 1, 2021, Info-Tech announced its 2021 CIO Award winners, recognizing 39 IT leaders that delivered exceptional business value to their organizations. We were thrilled to recognize Terri-Anne Crawford, CIO of Polk County Tax Collector, who received a CIO Award for the second year in a row.

Info-Tech: As you wrap up a successful multi-decade career as an IT leader, can you share some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned??

Terri-Anne: As an IT professional for my entire career, I have learned many valuable lessons and worked with some extremely talented and bright individuals.?Here are the main lessons I would pass on to?other?IT leaders:?

1)?Always?focus on your customer.?? I tell my team that our job is to make the jobs of others in the organization easier. You cannot focus on technology just for technology’s sake. Whether it’s improving customer service, saving labor by making a task easier, or saving money, the focus needs to be on the value to the business and the customers.

2) Treat?each member of your team with respect and recognize their value.?? It truly is a team effort, and treating your team with respect and dignity is of the utmost importance.?Besides?it is simply the right thing to do.??

3)?Prioritization is?very important.?? From prioritizing the entire IT strategic plan to just prioritizing your day-to-day tasks – it is always a balancing act. There will never be a shortage of work, so it is important to learn how to prioritize and how to communicate those priorities. I learned at a previous job that sometimes you have to say “no” to good ideas. You must prioritize the ideas that deliver the most value.?

4) Communication?is the key to success.?? I have always believed in sharing everything I know with my team members. The more they understand about the business, the better they can do their jobs and deliver value. And in terms of communicating outside of IT, the business users will be very forgiving of a lot of things if you are communicating with them. No one likes an unpleasant surprise.

Info-Tech: What is your leadership style and how did you go about empowering your team members to be successful??

Terri-Anne: My leadership style is eclectic. First and foremost, I want my team members to know I value them. I expect them to do their jobs and allow them latitude to do so, but they also know I am available for coaching and counsel if needed. They also know I value them as human beings. I’m very understanding of the work-life balance and their families’ needs. I believe that creates an environment where they feel seen and it ultimately increases productivity.?

We celebrate project successes and personal successes on our team. Project successes are great, but I like it best when we celebrate a team member. We had a team celebration a few years ago when one of our team members became a United States citizen. It was a special day for her and her family and was one of my favorite celebrations. We also celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, weddings, and new babies. And our team is known for our Halloween costumes each year during the annual celebration and parade through the town.?

I also encourage my team to seek out additional training and education, including the access they have to Info-Tech’s research and training sites.?

Info-Tech: What advice would you give specifically to other public sector IT leaders and other women IT/tech leaders???

Terri-Anne: I’ve had experience working in both the private and public sectors, with most of my career spent in the private sector. The thing that I find the most challenging in the public sector is competing for talent against the private sector when it comes to salary. That makes it very important to invest in your staff in other ways. Make sure to budget money for training and development of your staff and be sure to provide them with opportunities to do projects that interest them and help grow their skill sets. Provide them the coaching and support they need to be successful. Also be mindful of the work-life balance for your staff. If your staff knows you care about them and you care about their personal and professional well being, that can go a long way toward bridging the salary gap.?

Nurturing relationships with staff and showing concern about their well being maybe comes more naturally to a female leader, but I do not want to imply there are not compassionate male leaders. I have definitely worked for caring and compassionate male leaders in my career that were instrumental in my growth and development.?

I’d sum this up by saying the favorite part of my job has always been developing my team and watching them grow and succeed. A funny thing happens when you do that…your job ultimately becomes much easier.??

Info-Tech: What are key things IT teams need to think about as we enter 2022? ?

Terri-Anne: The rate of change in technology has always been a challenge. So it is important to find the right resources to help you keep up with technology. For me, with limited resources, I found access to Info-Tech research and analysts extremely valuable.?

Another trend to watch is the fast acceleration of remote work. It will be a challenge to keep a cohesive team and focus when you are not all in the office. I prefer a hybrid approach, where you have your team together at least some of the time, but I know that is not always possible. I believe leaders are going to have to figure out how to foster teamwork and relationships while dealing with remote workers and virtual meetings. I’m thankful for the technology that makes remote work possible, but I have not yet figured out how to make virtual meetings or system design sessions as impactful as in-person meetings. I’ll be interested to see who figures that out.?

Info-Tech: Finally, what does it mean to you to win an Info-Tech CIO Award two years in a row??

Terri-Anne: I was thrilled to learn we’d been recognized for the second year in a row. Our entire organization is focused on customer service, and so it is natural for that focus to extend into the IT department. We also closely measure this every year by performing a 'customer expectation and satisfaction survey' with our constituents and an 'employee satisfaction survey.' This information is used in strategic planning and to measure our performance. In 2019, when approached by Info-Tech with the idea of participating in the CIO Business Vision diagnostic, I was immediately on board. We’ve now run CIO Business Vision each year to coincide with the strategic planning schedule. The results are reviewed with the entire senior management team and action items are identified.?

The first year we ran CIO Business Vision, our satisfaction scores were high, but not quite high enough to be recognized with a CIO Award. That first baseline report was valuable and did point to a couple of things we could focus on to bring greater satisfaction to one or two of our business areas. Winning the very next year was great, but sustaining those scores through a very challenging year that followed and winning a second time is even more satisfying.

Congratulations again to Terri-Anne for winning a 2021 CIO Award and for all her accomplishments as she wraps up her career this month!