If you only see the gap without acting on it, you might be a visionary, but you’re inert. If you take action without a clear view of the goal, many will consider you a leader, but your impact will be random, arbitrary, and inefficient. Combining both with some luck is likely to take you a long way in your career, and these are characteristics common in folks I’ve worked with who successfully navigate the transition into Staff-plus engineering or senior management roles.
