This article resonated with me. Once, I had a leader that would question parts of my org, or budgeted projects, why they were needed, etc. Her real question was "I need to cut X dollars out of the budget". I could have immediately helped that goal if she asked that exact question. Instead, though, she was going about it in an oblique way, trying to figure out where I was being incompetent.

Pretty embarrassed about our current state of leadership skills. In my current organization, we call this syndrome "bring me a rock". Like, I bring a rock, and she says "it's too big, or too brown, or whatever". Instead of outright saying, "I need a medium, smooth, grey, rock". I can deliver if you're explicit.