Amid Persistent Volatility, Chief Strategy Officers Face Rising Expectations and Limited Bandwidth

With internal confidence growing but external uncertainty lingering, strategy leaders are under pressure to deliver sharper execution, faster decisions, and AI-enabled transformation.  

NEW YORK, Feb. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

Key takeaways

• Seventy-two percent of chief strategy officers (CSOs) surveyed are optimistic about their organization's prospects, compared with the 24% who say the same about the global economy.
• More than half of CSOs surveyed report managing too many priorities with too little time.
• Only 35% of CSOs surveyed say they either co-lead or fully own strategic decision-making for top priorities.
• An overwhelming majority (95%) expect competitive dynamics and AI/technology-led disruption to materially impact priorities next year, yet only 28% currently co-lead enterprise AI-related decisions.

Why this matters
This annual report offers a timely look at the evolution of the chief strategy officer role amid sustained disruption. In an environment defined by macro volatility and rapid technological change, Deloitte's "2026 CSO Survey" provides insight into how strategy leaders are navigating evolving expectations, constrained capacity, and the growing imperative to embed AI into enterprise strategy.

This year's report highlights three defining themes: CSOs' confidence in their organizations despite external uncertainty; the widening "strategy-bandwidth gap"; and AI's emergence as a core strategic agenda rather than a peripheral technology issue.

Turning internal confidence into sustained advantage
CSOs are no longer treating uncertainty as a temporary shock to manage; they are designing for volatility as a persistent condition. While optimism about the global economy remains limited, strategy leaders are increasingly bullish in their own enterprise's ability to win despite disruption.

Seventy-two percent of respondents report optimism about their organization's prospects over the next year, compared with just 24% who express optimism about the global economy. Nearly all CSOs (95%) also expect intensified competitive dynamics and AI- and technology-driven disruption to materially shape their strategic priorities in 2026.

As a result of their bullishness for success despite macroeconomic headwinds, the burden for CSOs is shifting from diagnosis to delivery, translating their conviction into coordinated action, sharper trade-offs, and measurable outcomes.

The strategy gap: High expectations, limited capacity
Despite expanding enterprise mandates, many CSOs report operating with limited bandwidth. More than half of respondents say they are managing too many priorities with too little time, often stretched across multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously.

These pressures are compounded by lean teams: approximately half of CSOs report having five or fewer direct reports. As a result, many rely on rotating external support to advance critical initiatives, which can increase the time CSOs spend coordinating with these teams and further limit the time available for the strategic thinking and enterprise-level decisions central to their role.

At the same time, expectations continue to expand. Nearly two-thirds of CSOs report leading cross-functional transformation efforts and more than half drive enterprise-wide agendas that extend beyond the role's traditional remit, suggesting rising expectations for hands-on execution.

However, formal decision-making authority has not kept pace. Only 35% of CSOs surveyed say they co-lead or fully own decision-making for their organization's top priorities, highlighting a mandate gap in which CSOs are expected to drive execution without consistently having authority over the decisions that shape enterprise strategy.

AI as strategy: Beyond the toolkit
AI is increasingly reshaping how companies compete, allocate capital and make decisions, making it a corporate strategy issue, not simply a technological one.

Yet the survey suggests many organizations have not fully embedded CSOs into enterprise AI leadership. Only 28% of CSOs report co-leading AI-related decision-making, and just 16% say their organizations are using AI to fundamentally reimagine lines of business or create new sources for competitive advantage.

Still, momentum is building. Fifty-one percent of CSOs now view AI as a strategic partner that enhances insight generation and accelerates strategic execution, and 61% of respondents report investing in AI literacy to take advantage of the technology's strategic edge.

Find the full report here.

Key quotes
"While executives see competitive and technological disruption ahead, many CSOs may still lack the bandwidth and authority to fully shape enterprise strategy. To bridge this divide, strategy leaders should reimagine their mandate and champion governance that aligns decision-making power with enterprise priorities to help ensure strategy drives value, not just insight."

—  Gagan Chawla, U.S. Business Strategy Practice leader, Deloitte

"CSOs are navigating a world where uncertainty isn't episodic, it's the status quo. While confidence remains strong in their own organizations, strategy leaders are increasingly tasked to do more with less. To turn this confidence into a competitive advantage, CSOs should sharpen strategic choices, embed AI in core strategy, and seek out ways to help their organizations make decisions with speed and clarity."

—  Adam Giblin, U.S. Chief Strategy Officer Program lead, Deloitte

About Deloitte

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SOURCE Deloitte