How do good leaders give advice?

Instead of having an answer to every question, the most effective leaders are coaches — people who can guide others to arrive at their own solutions, put them into action, and set goals, says researcher and management consultant Julia Milner.

Here’s an unfortunate truth about the working world: Too many leaders in organisations simply don’t know how to lead.

Why? In part, it’s because the skills that get someone elevated to a top job may have little to do with their ability to guide and inspire others. It’s also because many of us hold an erroneous assumption about leadership. Namely, we think that a leader should be the supreme expert who can give advice to any of our employees about anything and everything.

As a result, people end up becoming overly prescriptive micromanagers. So, what separates a good leader from a so-so one?

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