Trust vs control

While reading Confident Decision Making by Roger Dawson, I came across a story that made me pause. It’s about a situation where a company is dealing with theft in a factory.

“Your natural tendency might be to bite the bullet and increase the number of security guards at a plant to decrease employee theft. A child might ask, ‘How much do all the security guards cost you? How much are the employees stealing? Why don’t you do away with those security guards and just trust the employees?’”

This simple question highlights a common leadership challenge:
How often we default to control-based solutions to manage risks - tightening rules, increasing oversight, and adding layers of security. While these measures might solve the immediate issue, they tend to create bigger problems in the long run.

Mistrust creeps in all shapes and forms

Think about how mistrust shows up in other ways, like fear of acting, tracking and monitoring or excessive documentation. We’ve all seen it: endless email threads, meeting minutes, and “just for the record” notes. It’s not inherently bad, but it often reflects the same mistrust as installing cameras for theft prevention.

Instead of collaboration, it signals fear: fear of being blamed, fear of losing credit, or fear of conflict.

These behaviours aren’t just inefficient; they’re symptoms of a deeper cultural issue - a lack of trust. The real power of trust lies in its ability to address problems at their root.

Trust fosters accountability and encourages employees to act with integrity - not because they fear consequences, but because they feel valued and empowered.

It shifts the focus from guarding against the worst to building a culture where collaboration and progress thrive.

Trust doesn’t just protect what’s valuable - it unlocks potential, drives innovation, and builds sustainable success.