I find it interesting that this starts with : As we added more people to the team, we noticed something disconcerting: rumors, politics and complaints started appearing.

This suggests that Ryan has confused "leadership" with "management". Good leadership means that people are all working to the same goals, good management means that people are working efficiently.

If you want to fix rumors, cliques, and back stabbing. Look to your leadership. If you want to get more done with the same number of people look to your managers.