Malika Begin shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Malika, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Recently, I had one of those “this is why I do what I do” moments with the team. We created a space where hundreds of women could reflect and reconnect with their professional stories, walking away with clarity, confidence, and a renewed sense of possibility. Some left with cleaned-up resumes, some to start businesses, some working through a conflict, and some with a big idea they need to set in motion. Throughout the weekend at a conference, our coaches offered one-on-one sessions and daily workshops designed to help participants translate experience into empowerment. When people feel stuck or unsure of their next step, sometimes they just need a boost, and that’s exactly what we delivered.
What made me the most proud wasn’t just the impact on the participants, but how seamlessly our team blended coaching, storytelling, and strategy into something that felt both personal and meaningful. The warmth and vitality we brought were contagious. It reminded me how powerful it is when development meets design, when you don’t just attend an event, you leave changed. You help people carry that spark of confidence forward into what comes next. Hope is so important; we need good leadership right now, generous leadership. We need energy and collaboration to do all the work ahead of us.
Now I can’t stop imagining what this could look like at other conferences and brand experiences, turning those in-between moments into opportunities for real growth, connection, and inspiration.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Malika Begin, founder of Begin Development, a Midwesterner who ended up in Malibu with three boys and a deep love for helping people grow. I discovered my passion for organizational development in a small start-up, attended business school, and turned it into a company dedicated to helping organizations build the kind of culture people don’t want to leave, where they want to stay and build with a shared purpose.
Begin Development, now six years strong, helps executives and boards tackle their most exhausting and expensive people problems. Because who wants to keep spending the budget on hiring and training when you can retain incredible talent and promote from within. It’s a no mediocrity plan. I have seen that when companies invest in their people early, everyone wins, and the value of the organization rises with the healthy, capable teams inside it.
I don’t believe in leadership as theory or checkbox training. We do it in real life, in boardrooms, off-sites, and sometimes even on pickleball courts. My team of coaches and facilitators helps leaders communicate more effectively, collaborate more deeply, manage conflict in healthy ways, and rediscover what it feels like to genuinely enjoy coming to work and working through challenging things together.
Right now, we’re partnering with incredible brands to reimagine how development shows up at large-scale events and conferences, turning professional growth into something personal and strategic. Our belief is simple: investing in people isn’t a luxury, it’s the smartest move a growing company can make.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was wild with curiosity. I was raised in the gift of freedom, parents who didn’t draw lines around what a girl could do, who handed me books that named the barriers so I might see them clearly and never mistake them for truth.
They gave me the language of awareness early with conversations about gender, justice, and the quiet ways the world can shrink your spirit if you let it. And because of that, I grew up unshrunken. I believed the world was wide and welcoming, that I could run straight into it with open hands and a ready heart.
Sports taught me strength and trust. Reading taught me empathy and imagination. Theater taught me to play, to collaborate, to take up space. Choir and orchestra taught me to listen, really listen, and find harmony in difference.
I was a girl who saw life as possibility, who believed she could be anyone, go anywhere, and bring others with her. That sense of freedom was a privilege, and I carry it now as a responsibility to make sure the spaces I build and the cultures I shape leave that same door open for others.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You don’t have to harden to be successful.
Keep your heart wide open. That’s where your power lives.
When you look at the people you admire, the polished titans of industry, you’ll think success means changing yourself into something else, being a little tougher, a little more guarded, a little more “grown up.” But you’ll learn that your mix of imagination, empathy, your ease with all kinds of people, and your wonderfully weird little quirks aren’t things to fix. They’re your signature.
Don’t trade your uniqueness for belonging. The very things that make you feel out of place now —your playfulness, big feelings, curiosity, humor, depth, casual affect, and creative streak, will become the exact tools you use to help people feel seen, valued, and connected. They will become your best connection points.
Stay true to your values, even when they don’t fit the room. In time, you’ll build your own rooms where care and creativity are currency and where being fully yourself is the strategy.
Your softness isn’t a weakness. It’s the way you’ll change every space you enter.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
If you asked my closest friends what really matters to me, they’d probably say it’s people, knowing them on a deeper level, seeing them step into their power and feel seen. They’d tell you I care deeply about doing things with integrity and heart, and about creating spaces that feel lighter, warmer, and more connected.
They’d also say I’m endlessly curious and wildly optimistic, that I see possibilities everywhere and don’t notice what can’t be done or natural limitations. I’ve never been very aware of limits or the word “no.” I just assume there’s a way forward, and that belief has shaped so much of my life and work.
Underneath it all, what matters most to me is living with joy, faith, and purpose, honoring my values, my family, and the people I get to walk alongside every day.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say I lived like a bright light. Vibrant, welcoming, and unafraid to shine in places where others needed clarity or comfort. A presence that felt safe, encouraging, and rooted in something more than ambition or success.
I hope they say I didn’t just build a business. I built communities and helped people not just reach their full potential but see it. I made them feel a certain way when they left our time together a spark of energy and excitement for who they were in the world. That I treated potential as something sacred. Not fragile, but powerful. Something you steward, not control. I believe people are capable of extraordinary growth when they are supported, challenged, and seen with clear eyes and high expectations.
I hope the story is that I served and loved more than I strived. The people I admire most and want to emulate walked with integrity even when it was inconvenient and chose courage when comfort would have been easier.
I hope people felt lifted in the spaces I created. Seen without judgment, encouraged without pressure, and guided toward the version of themselves they were designed to become. I hope the way I treated people made them feel valued, supported, and capable of more than they even thought possible.
If it all comes down to one line, I hope it is this:
She left people stronger, clearer, and more aligned with the kind of life and leadership they were meant for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://begindevelopment.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/begindevelopment
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/begin-development/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/begindevelopment/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeginDevelopment
- Other: Newsletter: https://begindevelopment.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=34adce5cc1c48b459d4b2c5ce&id=d0325b1091
Image Credits
Katie Marble
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
