>Oh, how many managers I've had that were happy to listen and nod attentively and give easy advice, but who didn't actually put any energy into my problem. Or..

>Oh, how many managers I've had that were happy to listen and nod attentively and give easy advice, but who didn't actually put any energy into my problem. Or... They wound up spending the week making it worse. That is not managing - it sounds like a therapy session. The time you spend with someone one-on-one has to be real. If your report has problems that need to be solved you have to spend the time working hard on solving the problems. Edit. I should add that your job as a manager is not to solve all problems, only those that only you can solve.