Being the leader of team Gryffindor, no doubt Huy Nguyen is such an empowering and bold Katalian behind the calm, humble and decent vibe he carries. Rewind the devoted journey he has been at Katalon since the very beginning, Huy always prioritizes his team as a part of his growth goals and aspiration for the onward path.
Huy: My starting point was the position of Training Fresher at KMS Technology. Back then I didn’t see myself in the Product development direction. After 2 months of training, I transferred to Katalon when we first had Katalon Studio with only over 10 members. I have been with Katalon for 5 years and 9 months to be exact. I used to work at Katalon Studio, but now I switched to TestOps for more than 1 year.
As a team leader, I oversee both the technical aspect and people management in terms of taking care of the team members' growth journey, helping them to maintain a happy mood when going to work, and assuring that they gain decent values and recognition.
Q. I heard that from the beginning you were reluctant to lead the team, what motivated you to accept the request?
Huy: Because my core competence is technical skills, not people management, I wasn't sure if I could handle the responsibility well. The first thing I did before taking the role was to have a 1-on-1 discussion with each of my teammates. I realize that most of my team are the junior positions, and they aspire to grow by having guidance and advice from their senior colleagues.
Also, when forming teams, all team members can choose the team they want to be in, and the moment my team members join me, I know that I have to do something in order not to disappoint their trust.
Q. What challenges did you take? And how can you overcome this challenge?
Huy: There are not many challenges on the technical side, but regarding the people management sort of thing, it's a whole different story. Rewind to the period of 1-2 months after forming the team, especially when the team is young, they often tend to underestimate their qualifications. So the challenge for me to tackle is how to sympathize with their problems, their needs and call them out as a team leader in a way that boosts their motivation. There was one time I sat with one of my members, talked to them, and persuade them to trust their ability, just like how my seniors advised me during the same context of feeling doubt in myself.
The second challenge is when there is too much workload, or when there are not enough resources so devs have to perform test cases, I will be the one to create the sample and guide the team members. With every common goal that a team wants to achieve, the team leader needs to step into the challenge and be the pioneer.
Q. What is more important to you in building trust amongst the team members: listening to your team members' problems then giving advice and guidance, or stepping back to let them have the opportunity to shine?
Huy: From my viewpoint, there is a no more important thing than the other one. It has to be the combination of both factors to drive any team forward. For instance, any excellent individual with an independent working style cannot comfortably perform at their highest ability if there is interference and minor management. But if we look at a team with the majority of the young ones, it is crucial to anticipate the difficulties they might encounter to guide and support them. My way is to always come up with a solution or principle in advance so that when the members are acquainted with the process, I will step back to let them have rooms to shine. The goal is to build a team of freedom but in an effective way and empower them.
From hesitating to take the lead role, thanks to my team members who have put their trust in me, I am still on my journey of learning to be a good leader, balancing between the technical side and the people management side.
Q. A message you want to share with your team members?
Huy: My team members are talented. I want them to get rid of the unconfidence in themselves. “Each of you has your strengths and qualifications. What you need to achieve greater heights is time to sharpen your skills and a good mentor to unleash your full potential. Keep up your great work!”
Q. Where do you see yourself in the path ahead with Katalon? (Your career aspiration)
Huy: Consider it greedy, but I see myself in the future doing something that is on the side of technical things but still keeping a foot on people management. I don't know if there is one position that fits. But the key result is I want to become a technical expert who every team in the company can seek when they experience any issues related to my field. I also want to grow the young talents in the team and learn how an engineer can build a product that satisfies users' needs.
Q. Besides being an engineer with strong expertise, are there any particular hobbies you pursue?
Sanh: I read books, regardless of the genre, as long as they equip me with knowledge - technical books, biographies, intellectual games. I do sing too. One fun fact is that I often get compliments that I sound like a professional singer.