The job of the big-picture software architect is not to give "generic software design advice". It's precisely to see the big picture: understand the information needs and flows of the business and determine WHAT needs to be built in order to serve those precise needs. Let the programmers worry about the details. That's their job and their strength: they are detailists who are fluent in the language of the machine, but their biggest drawback is, they tend to have difficulty seeing the big picture and understanding how those details fit into a greater whole.

One does not need to be a programmer in order to be a great systems analyst/architect. Matter of fact it's the opposite: great analysts are good with people, and have a strong intuitive grasp of what people need in order to effectively run the business. Leaving that to programmers is a recipe for disaster, as without documentation of existing business systems and requirements and a solid design, programmers will happily build the wrong thing.