Deloitte publishes 2026 CSO survey

Deloitte published its 2026 CSO Survey, reporting that chief strategy officers were optimistic about their own organizations while facing growing execution demands and constrained capacity.

The survey found 72% of respondents expressed optimism about their organization’s prospects, compared with 24% who expressed optimism about the global economy, and 95% expected competitive dynamics and AI- and technology-led disruption to materially shape priorities in 2026.

Respondents reported limited formal authority and lean teams: only 35% said they co-led or fully owned decision-making for top priorities, more than half said they managed too many priorities with too little time, and about half reported five or fewer direct reports while many relied on rotating external support.

The annual report highlighted three themes: internal confidence amid external uncertainty, a widening strategy-bandwidth gap, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)’s emergence as a core strategic agenda. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they led cross-functional transformation efforts and more than half reported driving enterprise-wide agendas beyond the role’s traditional remit.

“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,” said Gagan Chawla, U.S. Business Strategy Practice leader, Deloitte.

The report also noted that 28% of CSOs said they co-led AI-related decision-making, 16% said their organizations were using AI to reimagine lines of business or create new sources for competitive advantage, 51% viewed AI as a strategic partner, and 61% reported investing in AI literacy.