FACT CHECKED
To become a digital transformation evangelist, you need to acquire dependable digital transformation skills, network with thought leaders, and build your thought leadership profile.
Companies require competent individuals to keep up with the ever-changing technology trends to maintain their competitive edge.
Digital transformation evangelism being a considerably new field, proper guidance and mentorship is crucial, though scarce.
Follow through to learn how to become a digital transformation evangelist, your roles, and how much you can earn.
What is digital transformation evangelism?
Digital transformation evangelism is the art of getting people on board with digital transformation in a company. As much as digital transformation is about utilizing technology, it’s equally about influencing culture change and managing it.
So as companies intend to increase their digital transformation investments by 15%, they need digital transformation leaders to drive the mission.
What does a digital transformation evangelist do?
Digital transformation evangelists serve as visionary leaders in driving and transforming an organization’s digital strategy.
They implement emerging technology into an organization’s digital strategy to improve efficiency in its overall performance.
Digital transformation evangelist job description
A digital transformation evangelist needs a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or any other related field.
Eligible candidates should also demonstrate professional experience in transformational leadership roles and analytical abilities.
In addition, they should be well versed with emerging technology.
Key responsibilities of a digital transformation evangelist include:
- Inventing, analyzing, and scaling ideas to transform an organization’s digital experience
- Developing plans to systemize scalable technological implementations in an organization.
- Providing a visionary understanding of new technologies
- Developing digital transformation plans through extensive research and analytical thinking.
- Anticipating the needs and operational experiences desired in an organization and driving transformative digital solutions to heed those needs.
Digital transformation evangelist salary
According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary for digital transformation is $115,404. There are no clear records for digital transformation evangelism, but we found a job posting that stated a monthly salary of $5000 to $6000.
Who is a chief digital transformation evangelist?
A chief digital transformation evangelist leads an organization through digital transformation.
For example, Feng Hou is Maryville University’s chief digital transformation evangelist. He works with the digital transformation team to develop Maryville’s digital transformation plan then guides the team to analyze and implement the plan. Before getting this role, Feng Hou was a Chief Information Officer for over a decade.
How do you become a digital transformation evangelist?
First, have digital transformation skills and experience, then build your brand as an evangelist.
Let’s dive into the steps.
1. Get digital transformation skills/work experience
Most digital transformation evangelist roles require over 7 years of experience in the digital evangelism space.
Some of the common skills you need are:
- IT strategic planning
- Innovation leadership
- Change management
- Business skills
- Communication skills
- Analytics and prioritization skills
- Managerial skills
2. Build a thought leadership profile
Every evangelist has a profile that reflects their digital transformation skills. LinkedIn is a good start.
To create a well-written and compelling leadership profile, follow these steps:
- Identify your skills (experience and knowledge).
- List your achievements in chronological order.
- Use action words to describe your skills and accomplishments (e.g., “managed,” “led,” “organized”).
- Write an introduction that summarizes your qualifications.
Here’s an example of a digital transformation evangelist profile.
3. Network with digital transformation leaders
Follow other evangelists and hashtags like #digitaltransformation or #dx on social media. Here are a few digital transformation leaders you can follow on LinkedIn to get you started:
- Arun Kumar (the Digital Transformation Evangelist for iLink Digital since 2018)
- Adriane Escobedo (a Digital Transformation Evangelist at Lenovo since 2020)
- Rob Singh (Digital Transformation Evangelist since 2017. He is an independent consultant)
In addition, you can attend digital transformation conferences for first-hand teaching and guidance on what it takes to succeed as a digital evangelist.
Here are a few conferences:
4. Master the art of story-telling
Digital transformation means implementing changes, yet most people prefer that things remain the same.
The best tool to communicate the changes is through stories, because people connect with stories.
Stories help you convince the parties involved why your team’s recommendations are the best options.
To make your efforts more fruitful, it’s essential to:
- Focus on the reasons why the changes are necessary.
Pay more attention to the ‘why’ and not the ‘how’ of the developments you recommend. By focusing on the reasons, you eliminate the possibility of losing your audience in the technicalities.
- Make your story as relatable as possible.
Take your audience through some of the major pain points they may have experienced in their work. You want to paint a clear picture of how inconveniencing the challenges are.
Having set the stage, show them how the changes are the ideal solution to these challenges.
5. Blog about digital transformation
Creating a blog covering critical digital transformation areas showcases your expertise in the field.
You could create your self-hosted blog around digital transformation or on social platforms like Tumblr and Medium.
A great example of a digital evangelist who has taken the reap of creating a community around his interests is Alexander Buschek, a senior analyst at Gartner.
Through his blog, digitaltransformationblog.com, he showcases his expertise in the niche and shares critical experiences with his audience. The blog has great topics and personal testimonies that could inspire your journey as a digital transformation evangelist.
6. Stay up-to-date with digital transformation trends
You can follow the Digital Transformation Space on Quora and search for related topics to always catch up with the latest trends and discussions.
Additionally, you can set Google alerts to receive updates on new developments in the field.
To create a Google alert:
- Head over to Google Alerts
- In the search bar, type ‘Digital Transformation’
- Set the frequency you want to receive notifications whenever new information is available.
Weekly is a good frequency to avoid flooding your email with notifications.
You can also follow our digital transformation blog category.
