Ensuring patient safety has always been important for critical care teams. Since team and leadership skills are increasingly recognised as important for the patient’s safety, a body of literature on leadership in critical care has emerged. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review on the findings of effective leadership strategies in critical care teams. We aim to contribute to a better understanding of factors influencing leadership behaviour that in turn effect team outcomes. An input–process–output model of leadership is used to systemise the findings. The results of this review clearly show that effective leaders play a pivotal role in promoting team performance and safety. Effective leadership is characterized by clear and unambiguous behaviour which is adaptable to situational demands and shared between team members. The review concludes with recommendations for future research directions.