Investing in Competent talent and asking them the Right Questions is the actual mandate of Leadership.
The role of Leadership has undergone a sea change. A Leader at a point of time, was considered to be that person on a team who knew all the answers. No longer true. In fact, if the leader knows all the answers, the unspoken and underlying assumption is that the team is actually incompetent to find its way. This would not only be under-utilising the otherwise powerful resource capability of the team but would also be counterproductive...leaving the team in a damaging state of demotivation.
The new wave thinking and expectations of a leader are different. An effective leader dedicates disproportionate time to select a competent team. 70% of his job is done. Thereafter, he has to invest his time in asking the right questions to the team. It is thru this process that he is able to uncap the hidden potential of his team and monetize the talent investments made. Needless to say that he should be capable enough to guide the team in case it loses its track and wanders far away from the commonly defined purpose of the team.