Trust Beats Control: The Choices Shaping Every Decision. From The Edges Edition 7
Published about 1 month ago • 4 min read
August 2025
Trust Beats Control: The Choices Shaping Every Decision
From The Edges - Edition 7
Mo and Kaia
Some decisions are made behind closed doors, then rolled out to the people they affect. Others are built with those people involved and part of the discussion. This week's stories show the stark difference and why sharing power isn’t just nice, it’s necessary.
Hold tight to control and you risk outrage, mistrust, and harm. Share power, and you build loyalty, safety, and better outcomes. From Instagram’s risky location feature to a toy retailer handing the company over to its employees. The differences show, the future will be built by those who trust and include.
Trust Beats Control: The Choices Shaping Every Decision
Too often, important decisions are made behind closed doors, then rolled out without input from the people they impact. The result? Confusion, frustration, and sometimes real harm. But there’s another way: decisions built with people involved, shaping the conversation from the start.
Sharing power is not just a great idea, it's essential for success. Whether that success is commercial or has other impacts.
Holding onto control risks outrage, mistrust and damaged relationships. Sharing power builds loyalty, trust and creates safe spaces.
From Instagram's controversial decision about location sharing, risking people's safety, to a toy retailer handing over company ownership to employees. There's a contast. Those who trust and include face strong futures.
We have followed and scanned the news to see what's happening. Here's what caught our eyes this week. If you know someone who should be in the loop, share this newsletter.
We spotlight the stories that show us what is working and what is going wrong. The wins inspire us, the failures teach us. For People Leaders, paying attention to both is important. And have you seen a story we should share? Email us at hello@edgeofdifference.com
Join us at the edges. Understand differences. Spark inclusion
News from the edges this week...
Instagram Product Update Shows People Exactly Where You Are
Instagram’s new map tool shows people’s exact location in real time. Many users found themselves opted in automatically, sparking outrage and serious safety concerns., especially from women and younger userIt's a classic case of a product decision made wuthout consulting widely. People across the internet shared safety concerns that people could immediately see someone's exact location.
Some of the comments showed us exactly what many thought, with people asking who in the product design teams thought this was a good idea? From women concerned about their safety to the safety of younger users, we wonder who thought this feature was a priority? A clear example of not consulting widely with different people before implementing something. Meta has insisted this is an 'opt-in' feature, and is yet to roll out across Europe.
Founder Of Toys Chain Hands Company Over To Employees
The Founder Of The Entertainer, the UK's Biggest Toy chain, has handed control of the company over to the 1,900 workers. Gary Grant has transferred the ownership to an employee trust so employees get a share of profits. He is now 66 and wanted to do this instead of selling the business for profit. The Senior Leadership team will have full independent control of the company.
Employee-owned trusts and other models like this are being implemented increasingly for companies and other organisations. This model gives people a stake in the place they work. They can be involved in decisions and feel they are part of the decisions that are made. For many, this will be a strong reason to join a company, or stay at one that moves to this model of ownership and trust. It’s also proof that trust can be the best investment a leader makes.
Did any of those news stories make you think that you need to do something about this with your teams? Our training programmes are filling up fast! We have launched some great new programmes to look at:
Employee Edge
Do you ask employees for feedback? What happens to the feedback and actions? We have partnered with Bon Insight to help you take action.
Are you a People Leader or a diversity, equity and inclusion lead looking for some help and support? You can now book time for individual sessions with us where we delve into your diversity, equity and inclusion strategy and help you create ideas to drive change. And we are offering 20% off to our newsletter subscribers!
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Inclusion Edge - 1 hour session
We get it, sometimes you want to talk through where you are with someone. Book our one-hour session and we will talk you... Read more
