It is  well known axiom that "excellence is in the details" and so it stands to reason that if you want to be good in the craft of leadership you must get into the details.  Unfortunately, we have been warned for decades about the evils of micromanaging and more recently that autonomy is one of the keys for crating engagement in one's work but what we often fail to realize is that getting into the details as leader only begins to get into the way when some level of mastery has been obtained.  And regardless, coaching will always be necessary to drive performance even higher.

It makes no sense to give someone full autonomy over their work or work assignment who doesn't know how to do the task.  You are simply asking for someone to get hurt and poor quality product at the end of the day.  Instead, you must get into the details of teaching, coaching and developing the skills in the person necessary to effectively do the task so tat next time you may be able to give them a little more autonomy.  This process is repeated time and time again to develop.  As their mastery improves more autonomy is provided.  We often forget that we must match the level of autonomy to the level of  capability, but in no case is delegation a "fire and forget" process; there must always be a level of surveillance, coaching and oversight to achieve the desired result.

The difference between mediocrity and excellence is attention to detail.  Anonymous

Excellence is never an accident; it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skkilfull execution and the visiont o see obstacles as opportunities.  Anonymous

The noblest search is the search for excellence.  Lyndon B. Johnson