Lacking a full awareness of the context of a problem is not totally disabling. After all, you can still find answers to the problems you're given or that you can define for yourself, using your knowledge and experience in your chosen field of expertise.
A large number of people choose to work under the direction they are provided by their superiors and to only ever superficially question the instructions given. This can be for many reasons, good or bad, such as a strong trust or faith the their 'superiors are taking the correct course of action', or they may decide that it's simply too much effort to be inquisitive about the tasks given, or a combination of both these factors and many more.
There are situations where this kind of obedience is important. We can't all be leaders all of the time. I can't quite remember the sayings, one is "Too many cooks spoil the broth" but in this case, the point I'm trying to make, is something more like "Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians". Without workers then no work will get done.
However, I think that understanding why a problem is being solved is more important than solving it at all. Consider the two options: one is to take time to think strategically on how to best spend resources towards a goal, while the other is to spend resources coming up with the right answer to the wrong question!
In the first case, admittedly there is a risk of delay, and in some industries this can be a crucial factor, but the risk in the second case is that your resources are spent, and more resources are required to solve the problem properly, which might require undoing some of the work done in the first attempt.
As if solving the tricky problem you've been given, while simultaneously thinking strategically towards your goal wasn't hard enough, there is a chance that there will be other people or special interest groups competing for the attention of the decision makers in your arena. Therefore a consideration of your competitors' or even associated groups 'tactics' should be a part of the strategic thinking.
In addition to the conventional measures of success in an industry, such as market share or profitability, an 'emerging measure of success' is in the area of ethical behaviour and social responsibility.
The availability of high tech gadgets makes it harder for people or companies to disguise their less than perfect tactics, where they choose to employ them, which is traditionally in regions that will be more tolerant of exploitation, largely because of their own dire circumstances.
Because of the increased availability and transparency of news, 'the scoreboard' is now more balanced across society and bigger than ever. Some industries and special interest groups are far more effective at scoring points than others and sometimes unfairly so.
I think the talent to score points will be achieved through the personal development of leaders to appreciate the wider context of problems and in turn promote the benefits of their work to decision makers, rather than diligently working on the solutions and passively expecting appreciation and recognition of the good work being done in the industry they represent.
Interestingly, this is precisely the 'Spirit led' strategy of leadership in growing Christian Churches and Missions. It also highlights Jethro's advice to Moses.
Kurt Pudniks is a civilian engineer (MIEAust CPEng) working for Defence in Canberra.