(Editor's note: This is the third in our series of 2013 Insurance IT All-Stars. Read articles on David Lawless of Magna Carta and Peter Settel of Homesite Insurance. Tomorrow's feature is Allstate's Suren Gupta and on Friday we have Dan Colarusso of Cypress Insurance.)

No one, not even an Insurance IT All-Star, gets to where they are without a little help. West Bend Mutual Insurance CIO Tracey Berg spent her college years and her early career in IT shops learning the technology, but it was when she switched to the management side that she found the key component that would make her a successful leader.

"It was about nine years ago when I shifted from a technical role into a leadership role," she says. "About a year into that, I had a boss—Scott Martin of Assurant—who I consider one of my best mentors. He told me one day that I need to be as excited about seeing somebody else's career grow as I am about seeing a technology effort completed. That was an 'aha moment' for me."

Berg believes that as a manager of talent the focus should be on coaching and developing others as opposed to strictly delivering results.

"That sticks out in my mind because it is a fairly typical story in the IT career path where people think they want to strive for management, but don't associate that such a switch really changes your job completely," she says. "I try to coach people now before they make that decision."

Berg moved into the insurance field in 1999, but still thought of herself as a tech person more than someone with deep insight into the business.

"Over time, I've built up some insurance knowledge and paired it with technology knowledge," she says. "I don' know when I decided that insurance was where I wanted to stay, but being knowledgeable of the business side and the technology side put me in a good position as the CIO. Having knowledge of both sides is important in this role."

One thing Berg liked about the insurance industry is there are plenty of educational opportunities available.

"There is so much formalized education available in the insurance industry," she says. "That isn't necessarily true in other industries. There is so much opportunity to learn. It's really in your own hands if you choose to invest your time."

As far as selecting those on her IT team, Berg feels the foundational traits—high ethics, integrity, work ethic—are non-negotiable. Leaders should have some knowledge of the area they are leading, but she points out that if someone is going to lead an area of IT, they don't need to be a master of that domain, but they need to know enough to understand what direction is set in that area.

Beyond those fundamentals, Berg believes good managers have to be problem solvers with the ability to navigate a complex problem, figure out their own way around the barriers, and be creative with solutions. Another important skill is flexibility.

"Our world changes constantly," she says. "If that's not something a leader can thrive under, that person is not going to be happy."

The ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously is also invaluable.

"You are going to have a million balls in the air and you have to figure out which ones you are going to allow to hit the ground," Berg says. "Relationships and great customer service are also important. The ability to build strong relationships and deliver great customer service is a must-have. They also have to have the ability to articulate a problem, explain what it is, and what they have on their mind. That's my high-level list."

Those talents are currently on display as West Bend is in the midst of installing a new policy administration system and enterprise data warehouse.

"We put a lot of thought into this project," says Berg. "We did a formalized business case highlighting the business value we will receive and we performed a lot of upfront planning on how we are going to get it done."

Berg credits the dedication and commitment of the West Bend team and the leadership of the sponsor team, as well as implementation partner PwC and software partner Accenture with the project's success to date.

"We're not live yet, but we are very much on time and on budget," she says. "All three groups have done amazing work. It's great to be able to put those things in play that you know are the right way to get things done and stick to it."

What excites Berg about technology today is the shift to placing tools directly in the hands of the entire organization. For example, she points to Bring Your Own Device.

"We'll have a day where people can pick what device they want to work on," says Berg. "The whole tablet world is taking off and what I find interesting is that each person seems to use them in a different way."

In the past, that was never an option.

"We would tell people, 'Here is the technology we are rolling out and here is how you will use it.' Today there is more flexibility in the hands of people outside of IT to enable certain capabilities," she says. "Mobile is changing so much as is the whole Big Data realm. We are shifting quite a bit from IT being a barrier to IT being an enabler. That is exciting for IT associates to see that value.

Whether the insurance industry deserves its bad rap for being behind in technology depends on your perspective, points out Berg. In college, she admits she didn't think about career opportunities in insurance, but as technology people begin their careers it becomes more about the opportunity than the industry.

"From a technology perspective, [insurance carriers] are talking about exciting things and the most current trends," says Berg. "We're looking at mobile, Big Data, SaaS. I think there is a perception that we move slowly, but we are starting to break through because insurers are shifting that reality. Insurance companies are undergoing some significant technology transformation and I think we are bringing our industry more current as a result."

Part of the shift, explains Berg, is the newer perspective that technology is more of an exciting enabler than a necessary evil.

"There is so much of the new technology that puts power in the hands of the organization as a whole rather than getting IT to do the work they need," she says. "When people are excited about the technology coming to bear, it makes it a more exciting organization to be involved with."

Berg continues to worry about the future, particularly finding the skills needed to meet changing needs.

"It will become increasingly challenging to hire people in some areas. For example, the needs in the data warehouse and analytics areas are growing so fast. I don't know how the industry is going to get enough people trained to accelerate those skills," she says. "We've had better luck this year, but it is difficult to recruit and I don't see it getting easier."

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Insurance IT All-Star: West Bend’s Berg Learned Well from Mentors

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