Minimum Viable Management

Neha Batra and Mike McQuaid
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Minimum Viable Management is a podcast where Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra talk about the messy, human side of engineering leadership. From one-on-ones and feedback to servant leadership, product–engineering arguments and career growth, they share hard-won lessons from GitHub, open source and startups. Pragmatic, sweary and focused on what actually works, not performative management theatre.

Episodes

  1. 1D AGO

    Creating and Keeping Momentum

    Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra break down how leaders spark momentum and keep it steady. They start with clarity of mission, ruthless scope cuts, and visible wins in weeks not years. They cover simple not easy systems that reduce drag, like milestone slices, anti-goals, handoffs that follow the sun, and temporary process as guardrails you later remove. They show why constraints breed creativity, how to automate recurring pain, and why teams should target low volatility over peak velocity. They close with saying no, letting the right fires burn, and building a candid culture through trust and social capital.

    39 min

  2. OCT 23

    Psychological Safety vs. Telling the Truth

    How can teams feel safe to speak up while still hearing hard truths? In this episode of Minimum Viable Management, Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra explore what it really means to balance psychological safety with direct, honest communication. They discuss the practical work of rebuilding trust in teams, the role of consistency and humility in leadership, and how to make openness a habit, even when conversations are uncomfortable. They also touch on remote work, written communication, and when individual contributors should share their opinions in decision-making. A candid look at how safety and honesty can, and must, coexist for teams to thrive.

    37 min

  3. OCT 14

    Leadership Is a Series of Decisions (and Compromises)

    In this episode of Minimum Viable Management, Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra dive deep into the messy art of decision-making. When should you seek input and build consensus and when should you just make the call? They swap stories about frameworks for faster, clearer decisions, how to handle reversibility (“one-way vs two-way doors”), and how to communicate so people understand not just what you decided, but why. They also discuss how leaders can empower others to show leadership at any level, the real cost of over-meeting, and what it means to take ownership when things go wrong.

    36 min

  4. OCT 9

    Building Trust and Having Better Fights

    In the first episode of Minimum Viable Management, Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra reunite to talk about what “minimum viable management” really means: how to lead effectively without drowning in meetings or bureaucracy. They cover one-on-ones that actually work, giving and receiving feedback, establishing connections, servant leadership without martyrdom, and what good arguments look like between managers, engineers, and product.

    34 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

Minimum Viable Management is a podcast where Mike McQuaid and Neha Batra talk about the messy, human side of engineering leadership. From one-on-ones and feedback to servant leadership, product–engineering arguments and career growth, they share hard-won lessons from GitHub, open source and startups. Pragmatic, sweary and focused on what actually works, not performative management theatre.

Information

  • Creator
    Neha Batra and Mike McQuaid
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Neha Batra and Mike McQuaid
  • Show Website
    Minimum Viable Management

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