[koliber]

I disagree. Many of the leet code problems can be solved by thinking them through and coming up with a solution without ever seeing the problem before. If the candidate gets stuck, the interviewer should act as a partner and offer occasional hints in case some sort of trick is involved.

Maybe we have different things in mind when we say "leet-code questions".

I don't know why leet-code style interviews would discourage the things you mentioned.