A few years ago, a colleague and I developed a high potential leadership program for a FORTUNE 50 company. To inform our program design, we conducted interviews with about twenty senior leaders from across the organization. The group’s comments were insightful, but one stood out given how directly it targeted a skills gap related to up and coming leaders in the organization: “We just don’t have enough strategic thinkers around here.” This comment struck me as odd given the groundbreaking work the company was, and still is, doing in terms of redefining its industry. At least per this one senior manager, strategic thinking AND strategic leadership were lacking.

The comment is compelling, but is it true? Do organizations really need more strategic leaders?

Based upon data for over 35,000 corporate leaders around the world who received feedback on the Leadership Versatility Index 360 in the past 10 years, a full 70% were rated as demonstrating “too little” strategic leadership. The data, which covered C-level executives down to director-level managers, indicate that fewer than one in three leaders are considered “strategic” by their colleagues.

It seems the senior leader I interviewed was right after all.

Subscribe to my Strategic Leader Letter and get all my posts delivered to your inbox monthly.