“My senior leaders are working IN the business instead of ON the business.”
Sound familiar?
We hear the same thing from countless CEOs as they sum up their teams’ biggest challenges in that one sentence.
Here’s what we’ve observed across hundreds of organizations: The most capable leaders often become prisoners of their own competence.
They’re so skilled at solving immediate problems that they never create space for strategic thinking. Meanwhile, the business grows more complex, decisions pile up and long-term vision gets pushed to “someday.”
Where Strategic Thinking Actually Lives
Strategic thinking isn’t a personality trait or something you either have or don’t. It’s a skill that requires intentional practice and the right conditions.
Most organizations inadvertently kill strategic thinking by:
- Rewarding firefighting over prevention
- Scheduling strategic planning sessions only during annual retreats
- Promoting people based on operational excellence without developing strategic capabilities
- Creating cultures where being busy equals being valuable
The Cost of Tactical-Only Leadership
When leaders can’t zoom out from daily operations, you’ll start to see:
- Vision drift – Teams interpreting strategy differently across departments
- Reactive decision-making – Choices driven by urgency rather than importance
- Execution bottlenecks – Everything requiring senior leader approval because others lack strategic context
- Talent stagnation – High performers plateau because they can’t see the bigger picture
The result? Growth that feels chaotic, leadership that feels exhausting and strategy that never quite translates into sustained results.
Breaking the Tactical Trap
The leaders who successfully transition from tactical to strategic share three critical practices:
- Protected Strategic Time
They block dedicated hours weekly for thinking, not just reacting. No emails, no interruptions, no exceptions. - Current State Assessment
They regularly examine where they’re spending their time versus where they add the most strategic value. - Future State Clarity
They can articulate not just what needs to happen, but what success looks like 18-24 months from now.
Moving Beyond Individual Change
Individual behavior shifts only go so far. Real transformation happens when leaders develop strategic thinking as a shared capability – when your entire senior team can zoom out, connect decisions to long-term outcomes and think systemically about organizational challenges.
Ready to Build Strategic Thinkers?
The transition from tactical to strategic leadership requires more than good intentions. It demands structured experiences that challenge leaders to think differently about their role and impact.
Our Level Up Mastermind creates exactly this kind of transformational environment – where leaders develop the clarity and strategic perspective needed to lead at the enterprise level.