A Team of Leaders by Paul Gustavson and Stewart Liff Summary

A Team of Leaders by Paul Gustavson and Stewart Liff provides a framework for transforming traditional workplace teams into self-directed groups where every member acts as a leader. It emphasizes systems design, process alignment, and leadership development tools like the Five-Stage Team Development Model and Visual Management to foster ownership, initiative, and collective accountability.

This book is ideal for managers, HR professionals, and organizational leaders seeking to build high-performance cultures. It’s particularly valuable for those navigating hybrid/remote team dynamics or aiming to decentralize leadership in industries like tech, healthcare, or education.

Yes—the book combines 40+ years of organizational design research with actionable strategies. Its focus on practical tools like the Team Value Creation Tool and case studies from diverse industries make it a standout resource for modern team-building challenges.

The model outlines a progression from traditional hierarchical teams to self-directed leadership groups:

1. Dependency on a single leader
2. Emerging peer accountability
3. Shared vision alignment
4. Process ownership
5. Sustained innovation

It provides a roadmap for cultivating shared responsibility.

The book’s emphasis on visual management systems and decentralized decision-making offers solutions for maintaining engagement in distributed teams. Its strategies help managers establish clear metrics and communication rhythms without micromanaging.

This framework helps members quantify their daily contributions through three lenses:

• Task execution
• Process improvement
• Strategic innovation

It shifts focus from activity tracking to value-driven outcomes.

While both target managerial effectiveness, Gustavson’s work focuses on systemic team empowerment rather than individual management tactics. It complements execution-focused books like Atomic Habits by addressing organizational design.

• “Every team is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”
• “Leadership isn’t a position—it’s a daily practice of ownership.”

These emphasize the book’s core thesis that structure drives behavior.

Some practitioners note the strategies require significant cultural buy-in and multi-year implementation. It may oversimplify challenges in highly regulated industries, though the authors acknowledge adaptability needs.

Drawing on 40+ years consulting for organizations like Marriott and BYU’s football program, Gustavson blends academic rigor (Brigham Young University’s Marriott School) with real-world applications in team dynamics and process design.

Yes—it teaches skills in cross-functional collaboration and strategic initiative-taking that align with leadership pipelines. The Five Smooth Stones framework helps individuals demonstrate promotable behaviors.

While no specific edition year is listed, current versions integrate hybrid work adaptations and AI-assisted performance tracking tools, reflecting Gustavson’s ongoing research with InTandem Capital’s portfolio companies.