Gusto Leadership & Management

Gusto encourages managers to lead with empathy, trust, coaching and a strong commitment to employee growth. The company's culture emphasizes helping employees do their best work while supporting their professional development, wellbeing and long-term career goals. Managers play an important role in reinforcing Gusto's values, creating clarity around priorities and fostering an environment where employees feel empowered to contribute, learn and grow. 

• Managers are expected to support both performance and growth: Gusto encourages managers to help employees succeed in their current roles while also investing in their future development. Through regular feedback, coaching and career conversations, managers help employees identify growth opportunities, build new skills and increase their impact over time. The company emphasizes continuous learning and encourages managers to support employees in pursuing both short-term goals and long-term career aspirations.
• Leadership is grounded in trust and autonomy: As a distributed company, Gusto relies on a culture of trust and accountability. Managers are encouraged to empower employees by providing clarity on goals and expectations while giving them the autonomy to determine how best to achieve results. This approach allows employees to take ownership of their work while knowing they have support and guidance when needed.
• Managers help create a collaborative work environment: Gusto places a strong emphasis on teamwork and cross-functional collaboration, and managers play a key role in fostering those connections. Leaders help employees build relationships across teams, share knowledge and work effectively with colleagues from different disciplines. This collaborative approach supports both employee development and customer outcomes.
• Feedback and continuous improvement are important parts of the culture: One of Gusto's values, Raise the Bar, Learn Fast, Repeat, reflects the company's emphasis on learning and continuous improvement. Managers support this by providing constructive feedback, encouraging reflection and helping employees learn from both successes and challenges. The company promotes a growth mindset and encourages employees to view development as an ongoing process.
• Managers support employee wellbeing and work-life integration: Gusto emphasizes creating an environment where employees can do meaningful work while maintaining their wellbeing. Managers are encouraged to support flexibility, help employees prioritize effectively and create space for employees to utilize the benefits and resources available to them. This includes supporting employees through major life events, family responsibilities and career transitions.
• Commitment to inclusion and belonging: Managers play an important role in fostering an inclusive culture. Leaders are expected to create environments where employees feel respected, heard and empowered to contribute. The company emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives and inclusive leadership in building strong teams and serving customers effectively.
• Supporting AI fluency as a leadership responsibility: Gusto views AI fluency as a competency that managers are expected to model and reinforce across their teams. Leaders are encouraged to create space for employees to build comfort and capability with AI tools, and to position that development as a normal part of growth rather than an add-on. This includes helping teams identify where AI can reduce friction, increase effectiveness and free up capacity for higher-impact work.
• Employee testimonials: Employees frequently highlight supportive managers, thoughtful leadership and a culture where employees are encouraged to learn, grow and contribute. Employees often describe leaders as approachable, invested in employee success and committed to helping teams navigate challenges while maintaining a strong focus on customer impact.
• External signals:
  • Employees highlight Gusto's focus on employee development, collaboration and leadership support as part of its overall workplace culture and employee experience.
  • Gusto has earned recognition from organizations including Great Place to Work, Fortune and Inc. for workplace culture and employee experience, reflecting broader employee perceptions of leadership and support.
  • Employee review platforms frequently cite supportive teammates, approachable leaders and a collaborative work environment as positive aspects of working at Gusto. (Glassdoor; Comparably)

Bottom line: Gusto's management approach is centered on coaching, trust, development and employee support. Managers are expected to help employees grow their careers, create clarity around priorities, foster collaboration and support employee wellbeing while empowering teams to take ownership of their work and deliver meaningful outcomes for customers.