It’s been over a year in my role as Chief Evangelist for A2 Hosting, now hosting.com. And I get asked often, “What is a chief evangelist?”
Candidly, I don’t always know what to say either.
So part of this post is for me and clarity.
First, though, I want to say: this was not a position I sought after (even as I’ve always respected Guy Kawasaki of Apple fame), but one that I’m so appreciative that Paul Carter at A2 saw in me, recognized the need and valued a position like this, and then made a place for me that feels very, very natural to me when I came knocking on his door.
I often tell people it’s all the parts of running and leading iThemes I enjoyed but didn’t get to focus on for the 100 other things I felt I needed to do and be.
And it rather ironically and beautifully brings parts of my diverse career experiences together in one package, for something I’m very passionate about:
Community.
3 Words That Describe It Best & a Mission Statement
If I had to pick one word that captures it best, it’d be: CONNECTION.
The result? I need two words: BUILDS TRUST.
And trust is currency and valuable, more today than yesterday. But also … so is connection. They are interconnected and increasingly valuable.
When I dig down, I see how powerful the African proverb I heard well over 10 years ago is the very heart of this:
“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.”
To me, the role of the Chief Evangelist is:
To rally people together on a journey of shared success.
That’s community leadership to me. And what I believe is the formula for how we all go far together.
A Role With Many Hats
Here are the many ways I’ve thought about and shared for the many hats this role has to me:
1. The Bridge Builder
We work hard to build and maintain those bridges between our groups. The first step is being the connector of people, teams, customers—internally and externally—toward that shared vision of success.
2. The Thoughtful Communicator
Translating vision and values into clear, human language that builds trust and momentum. And being the empathetic listener first.
3. The Brand AND Customer Ambassador
It’s both and yes, it’s a balance. But both embodying the customer’s journey, vision, values and needs and sharing that back to our teams. AND being the embodiment of our brand back to our customers for our leadership and company.
And my hope and aim is that if I do that well and consistently, all of this builds immense trust to being a Trusted Partner and Advisor — for our customers, our leadership and our teams, together.
And we all win together! On that journey together on the path called shared success.
What’s It Look Like Day to Day?
The every day keys of what I do are:
- Talking to people — I spend half my day talking to our team about what’s going on (across teams) and our customers and what they are needing, hearing, seeing in their business.
- Co-creating content — to start we focused on video and our YouTube channel and humanizing the brand through my face and our leadership and team, and webinars and other video that helps our agency partners with content that helps them be successful (and not just about their hosting).
- A lot of comms and messaging work — from team announcements, press releases, email newsletters, helping with blog posts, social media and all between.
- Coordinating community and event strategy — I travel around 3-4 times a year for events, like PressConf and others. These always include private dinners with our agency partners, which is the highlight for me.
How It Works Best for Me
- Belief
It starts with conviction—I have to believe in what we’re doing, both the why and the how.
- Authenticity
From belief comes honesty and authenticity. And I can be genuine. And when I believe, I can speak and share from what’s real. As I don’t do spin and I don’t ever like pretending.
- Connection
Then I’m energized and start to connect with all our groups, building bridges.
- Communication
Then I can communicate with clarity and passion with all those groups—internally and externally.
- Support
Working Genius I think calls this Galvanizing. And the work in between all of this is supporting our people on this journey, consistently and generously.
I think a natural result of that is: everyone wins because we’re building trust together.
What the Role Needs to Be Successful
- Integrity & Alignment
Shared vision and values are essential. I can only advocate for what I truly believe in. Otherwise, it’ll never feel authentic for me. It’ll feel hollow and then I’m just going through the motions.
- Connection to Leadership
I need consistent, open connection to leadership’s thinking—to help understand their why to help guide the how.
- Collaboration & Partnership
This role only works when it’s in close partnership across the team—not in a silo, and never solo.
- Space to Work
I need some level of autonomy and trust to connect, communicate, and create. Not reckless freedom or doing things in a silo—but enough space to do it all meaningfully and impactfully to me.
OK, Now The Business Benefits
I acknowledge so much of this is not a business as usual role, which is part of the reason I really like this work.
I realize though …phrases like “inspiring shared success” … don’t always resonate in the business world.
So with regard to the business benefits there are two key groups — internal (team) and external (customers) — and both are vital communities of people that matter to any business (or should).
And those big business benefits I see for this role are and I see in incremental order building on each:
- Creates Alignment
- Humanizes the Brand
- Builds Trust
- Builds Brand Awareness, Loyalty and Advocacy
- Increases Revenue/Profit & Reduces Churn
A Human Role With Real Impact
OK, that’s a lot ….
At the end of the day ….
It’s about people.
It’s about heart. And heartbeats.
It’s about earning and maintaining and growing trust.
It’s about connection and collaboration at its best. Idealistic as I might be.
But ultimately, it’s about Going Far Together.
That’s what this role is to me. And why I show up for it every day to do this work.
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