Trust Grows When You Hand Over Control: The Inverse Relationship Few Leaders Notice

For decades, leaders believed maintaining tight control would guarantee respect and trust from those they led. Yet studies in organizational behavior and behavioral economics reveal the opposite: the more control is centralized, the less people trust those in charge. When companies loosen the reins—granting employees, students, or users real input into what matters—trust accelerates. In one seminal experiment, workplaces that let staff redesign their schedules and workstations observed dramatic gains in engagement, creativity, and honesty.

David Weinberger’s Corollary to 'Give the people control and we will use it' posits an inverse relationship between control and trust. Practical research has shown that team members with the authority to challenge decisions are more likely to share important feedback early, catch potential problems, and stick around long term. In contrast, excessive process, rules, and gatekeeping produce disengagement, cynicism, and even rebellion. One firm instituting open bug-tracking, public decision logs, and opt-in meeting planning saw lower turnover and faster resolution of internal disputes than previous years under a top-down regime.

Switching to an inclusive, distributed model of trust isn’t always smooth—some leaders fear losing power or efficiency. Yet companies (and classrooms, and families) who walk the talk and genuinely distribute control quickly see trust and performance grow hand in hand. Scientific evidence makes it clear: power-sharing isn’t just good for morale, it’s good for results.

Start by noting down every decision you currently handle on your own, especially the ones that impact others—like scheduling, grading criteria, or household rules. Pick one of those decisions and invite everyone affected into the process from the outset, genuinely listening and shifting plans based on their ideas. Make it a priority to seek out pushback and treat it as a sign of shared investment, not a threat. Then, when the new plan rolls out, tell the story of how it came about and name the people whose opinions helped shape it. Trading some control for trust won’t always come easily, but the payoff is a team, group, or family that stands behind you and each other, even on tough days.