--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If those to whom power is delegated do…" description: "\"If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be respected; if not, they will be despised.\" — Thomas Paine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-paine-267_despised_if-those-to-whom-power-is-delegated-do-w_971705.png" --- # If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be… ![“If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be respected; if not, they will be despised.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-paine-267_despised_if-those-to-whom-power-is-delegated-do-w_971705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-paine-267_despised_if-those-to-whom-power-is-delegated-do-w_971705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/thomas-paine-267_despised_if-those-to-whom-power-is-delegated-do-w_971705.png) > “If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be respected; if not, they will be despised.” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective delegation earns respect; failure invites contempt. **In simple terms:** Good leadership gains respect, bad leadership loses it. Key Takeaway Delegate wisely, monitor outcomes. Themes leadership respect delegation Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government - corporate management - nonprofits - community projects Key Concepts political theory authority accountability Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate delegated performance? - What safeguards ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Respect depends on outcomes, not titles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Respected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respected/) ## Related quotes > [“If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be respected: if not, they will be despised; and with regard to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/if-those-to-whom-power-is-delegated-do-well-they-will-be-respected-if-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Great merit, or great failings, will make you respected or despised; but trifles, little attentions, mere nothings, either done or neglected, will make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/great-merit-or-great-failings-will-make-you-respected-or-despised-but-2/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [No man will be respected by others who is despised by his own relatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/no-man-will-be-respected-by-others-who-is-despised-by-his-own/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Great merit or great failings will make you respected or despised; but trifles, little attentions, mere nothings, either done or neglected, will make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/great-merit-or-great-failings-will-make-you-respected-or-despised-but/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“The god Krishna says: I love the man who hates not nor exults, who mourns not nor desires … who is the same to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/the-god-krishna-says-i-love-the-man-who-hates-not-nor-exults-who/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“The work which can be done by your subordinates should be delegated, even if you like doing the work yourself. You must rather focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awdhesh-singh/the-work-which-can-be-done-by-your-subordinates-should-be-delegated/) [Awdhesh Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/awdhesh-singh/) > [Initiative can neither be created nor delegated. It can only spring from the self-determining individual, who decides that the wisdom of others is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/initiative-can-neither-be-created-nor-delegated-it-can-only-spring/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [“Utter foolery shouldn't be delegated”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-buroker/utter-foolery-shouldn-t-be-delegated/) [Lindsay Buroker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-buroker/) > [If the person you delegated to does the job twice as well as you would have done it, consider yourself a leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-the-person-you-delegated-to-does-the-job-twice-as-well-as-you/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“You've delegated the ability to make up your mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-barry/you-ve-delegated-the-ability-to-make-up-your-mind/) [Max Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-barry/) > [When Theresa May asked me to resolve policy disagreements between ministers, my power to do that depended on the fact that I was acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/when-theresa-may-asked-me-to-resolve-policy-disagreements-between/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/it-is-a-fundamental-truth-that-the-responsibilities-of-motherhood-2/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [God has delegated himself to a million deputies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/god-has-delegated-himself-to-a-million-deputies/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/those-who-expect-to-reap-the-blessings-of-freedom-must-like-men/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and of all Christian priests and preachers, to impose the Bible on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-has-been-the-practice-of-all-christian-commentators-on-the-bible/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Wisdom is not the purchase of a day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/wisdom-is-not-the-purchase-of-a-day/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/suspicion-is-the-companion-of-mean-souls-and-the-bane-of-all-good/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Despised quotes > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) Edward Lucie-Smith > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [I'd rather be despised for my character than be liked for my lack of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-despised-for-my-character-than-be-liked-for-my-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is easy enough to say that poverty is no crime. No; if it were men wouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-poverty-is-no-crime-no-if-it-were-men/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [“For immediately in the beginning, after his original life of blessedness, the first man despised the command of God, and fell into this mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eusebius-of-caesarea/for-immediately-in-the-beginning-after-his-original-life-of/) [Eusebius of Caesarea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eusebius-of-caesarea/) > [I like to give a voice to others, especially things neglected or despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morgan/i-like-to-give-a-voice-to-others-especially-things-neglected-or/) [Edwin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-morgan/) > [Which was worse: a friend with brain damage, or one who despised you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/which-was-worse-a-friend-with-brain-damage-or-one-who-despised-you/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. 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