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The best leaders have people around them who challenge them with good intent, but leaders are now also more able to play "devil's advocate" themselves, according to an experienced coach.

If a leader is feeling a tension between what's best for their team and the organisation as a whole, they might benefit from asking themselves some tough questions, says Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation chief leadership development officer Erica Nelson.

"If you struggle with that, have a great 'trusted challenger' in your network," she says. Then the leader can say, "This is what I'm thinking. Can you ask [some] challenging questions to make sure that I'm taking the right lens?".

The leader's team might be saying, "We really want to do this project. We really want to invest in this piece of work", Nelson says by way of example...