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
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: How to Reduce 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)
A practical, no-hype guide to the minimal viable toolset for remote teams — with real cost comparisons, integration strategies, and setups from actual distributed companies.
Managing a Remote Team: Communication, Trust, and Accountability
Lessons from GitLab, Basecamp, and real remote teams on building documentation culture, trust-based management, and async-first communication that actually works.
Automating Repetitive Tasks: Tools and Workflows for Small Teams
How to identify automation candidates, build workflows with Zapier and Make, and calculate ROI — a practical guide for teams that can't afford to waste time on manual work.
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: Protecting Focus Time While Running a Business
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 including ICE scoring, the Eisenhower matrix, and the RICE method 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.