Aisha Malik
People & Leadership Editor
Aisha Malik holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia and has spent 11 years coaching founders and C-suite leaders on building high-performing teams. She has consulted for companies from 5-person startups to Fortune 100 firms, and her research on remote leadership has been cited in Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.
Credentials & Education
Areas of Expertise
Articles by Aisha Malik
Annual Planning for Startups: A 4-Quarter Framework That Actually Works
Why most startup annual plans fail — and the 4-quarter rolling framework that maintains direction while adapting to reality. Includes the meetings, artifacts, and review cadence.
Customer Success vs Customer Support: When You Need Both
The real difference between customer success and customer support — what each function does, when to hire which, and how the two coordinate without overlapping.
Performance Reviews Without Bureaucracy: A Small Team Framework
How to run performance reviews that actually improve performance — without the enterprise-style forms, 360s, and ratings that destroy small-team trust.
Equity for Your First 10 Hires: Compensation Bands and Vesting
How to set equity grants for early hires — by role, by stage, by seniority. Plus vesting, refresh grants, and the conversation every founder dreads.
How to Let Someone Go: A Manager's Step-by-Step Guide
How to fire an employee with dignity and minimal damage — preparing for the conversation, the meeting structure, legal hygiene, and team communication.
Building Team Culture When Everyone Works From Home
Practical strategies for remote culture — from virtual rituals and async onboarding to Zapier's all-hands approach and signs your culture needs attention.
Async Communication: Cut Meetings Without Losing Alignment
A practical transition plan for moving from meeting-heavy to async-first culture, with templates from Basecamp, Automattic, and real distributed teams.
Tools for Remote Teams: What You Actually Need (And What You Don't)
The minimal viable toolset for remote teams — with real cost comparisons, integrations, and setups from real distributed companies.
Managing a Remote Team: Communication, Trust, and Accountability
Lessons from GitLab, Basecamp, and real remote teams on documentation culture, trust-based management, and async-first communication.
Automating Repetitive Tasks: Tools and Workflows for Small Teams
Spot automation candidates, build workflows in Zapier and Make, and calculate ROI — a practical guide for small teams that can't waste time.
The Weekly Review: A Simple System to Stay on Track
A streamlined 45-minute weekly review process adapted from David Allen's GTD, designed specifically for founders who need clarity without bureaucracy.
Deep Work for Founders: How to Protect Your Focus Time
How to apply Cal Newport's deep work principles as a founder, including the maker-manager schedule, environment design, and practical focus strategies.
How to Prioritize When Everything Feels Urgent
Practical prioritization frameworks — ICE, the Eisenhower matrix, and RICE — to cut through chaos and focus on what actually moves the needle.
Time Management for Entrepreneurs: Systems That Actually Work
A practical guide to time auditing, energy management, calendar blocking, and batching — built for founders who can't afford to waste a single hour.
Decision-Making Frameworks for Founders Under Pressure
From Bezos's one-way doors to the OODA loop and pre-mortems, practical frameworks for making better decisions faster when the stakes are high.
Building a Feedback Culture in a Small Team
How to use Radical Candor, the SBI model, and Google's Project Aristotle findings to create a team where honest feedback is normal, not terrifying.
Delegation for Founders: How to Let Go Without Losing Control
The Eisenhower matrix, 70% rule, and outcome-based frameworks that help founders delegate effectively without micromanaging or losing quality.
Hiring for Culture Fit vs. Culture Add: What Actually Works
Why 'culture fit' often masks bias, how culture add builds stronger teams, and structured methods to hire for values without sacrificing diversity.
How to Run Effective One-on-One Meetings With Your Team
Practical frameworks, question templates, and cadence strategies to transform your one-on-ones from status updates into your most valuable leadership tool.