Sitting at the Table: Madhura Divekar on Turning Experience Into Strategic Direction
A Zurich-based techno functional lead with over 15 years in enterprise technology joined the program as a mentee to build leadership presence and strategic influence beyond her technical expertise.
“You do not need to have every career question fully defined before joining. A good mentorship relationship can help you identify the questions that matter most and give you the confidence to take meaningful next steps.”
Madhura Divekar is based in Zurich, Switzerland. She works as a techno functional lead assisting solution architecture in designing and delivering large-scale enterprise technology solutions, with over 15 years of experience. Her expertise spans telecom OSS/BSS, commercial order management, product lifecycle management, cloud-native architecture, enterprise integration, and SaaS platforms. Her technical background includes microservices, distributed systems, AWS cloud services, CI/CD, Java, Spring Boot, Camunda, Salesforce, CloudSense, Scala, Python, APIs, and database technologies.
Madhura joined the Women in Tech mentorship programme as a mentee.
Wanting Intentional Growth Beyond Technical Expertise
Madhura's motivation for joining came from a clear-eyed view of what senior career growth actually requires.
“I recognise that senior career growth is also about leadership presence, strategic thinking, professional visibility, and the ability to influence decisions beyond the immediate technology space.”
She points to a specific book as an early influence on that thinking, and wanted to build on it directly.
“Inspired by the ideas in Lean In, I wanted to learn from experienced leaders, strengthen my confidence in articulating my career ambitions, expand my professional network, and explore how I can create broader strategic impact through my work.”
Learning From Complementary Perspectives
What made the experience special to Madhura was the range of mentors she engaged with.
“I have had interactions with mentors having strategic leadership perspective and experience working in complex, high-impact environments, along with ones having technical and solution-architecture-oriented perspective.”
She describes why that combination mattered.
“It creates space to discuss not only career goals, but also how to communicate technical expertise in a way that connects with business stakeholders, senior leaders, customers, and potential employers.”
A Shift From the Ideal Solution to the Pragmatic One
A discussion during her mentorship about responding when no immediate technical solution is feasible turned out to be directly relevant soon after. Madhura faced an escalation during business validation, where a quick outcome was expected without time for the usual requirements and design process, and the existing solution hadn't been built for that scenario.
“The discussion helped me shift from thinking only about the ideal technical solution to considering the end-to-end business goal, customer impact, risks, and practical options.”
She identified a safe workaround using the current implementation, while flagging its limitations and the follow-up design work still needed.
“This experience reinforced that solution architecture is not only about designing the future-state solution, it is also about making pragmatic, responsible decisions that keep the business moving when circumstances demand it.”
What Stood Out About Her Mentors
Madhura points to strategic perspective and direct feedback as the qualities that mattered most to her.
“I value mentors who can challenge me constructively, help me see my experience and potential from a different angle, and share their own career lessons honestly. It is especially helpful when a mentor combines encouragement with direct, actionable feedback.”
Rethinking What Mentorship Offers
The experience reinforced a broader view of mentorship for Madhura.
“The most meaningful mentorship creates a trusted space for reflection, honest conversation, constructive challenge, and growth. It helps you clarify your ambitions, identify the skills and behaviours that will help you progress, and recognise strengths that you may otherwise take for granted.”
Her Message to Anyone Considering the Program
Madhura encourages people to join without needing every question already answered.
“You do not need to have every career question fully defined before joining. A good mentorship relationship can help you identify the questions that matter most and give you the confidence to take meaningful next steps.”
What She Recommends
When asked for a book, tool or resource recommendation, Madhura points to Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.
“The book encouraged me to reflect on the importance of being confident about my professional aspirations, speaking up, seeking challenging opportunities, and taking an active role in shaping my career.”
She highlights one message in particular.
“The importance of ‘sitting at the table’: contributing your perspective, taking ownership of your achievements, and not stepping back from opportunities before you are ready.”
Following Her Journey
Madhura shares more about her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Ready to turn your experience into strategic direction?
The Women In Tech mentorship program connects professionals like Madhura with mentors who combine encouragement with direct, actionable feedback.
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