From "Do You Think I Can?" to "This Is What I'm Doing": Sunitha Sharma on Mentoring as a Time Accelerator

"Mentors are time accelerators. They do not eliminate the journey or the effort. They can simply shorten the distance between uncertainty and clarity."

Sunitha "Sunny" Sharma is based in New Jersey, USA. She has spent nearly 25 years in technology, primarily building enterprise relationships, growing strategic accounts, and connecting business needs with the right technology and people.

Today, she is building CodeplixAI, focused on helping enterprises translate AI, GenAI, and emerging agentic technologies into practical solutions and intelligent workflows. She also founded Healios Studio, which draws on her work in clinical hypnotherapy, NLP, and executive mental wellness to focus on the human system behind performance. "Different worlds perhaps, but both are ultimately about transformation and unlocking potential."

Sunny is a Mentor in the Women in Tech mentorship program.

Mentoring From the Middle of Her Own Journey

Sunny brings nearly 25 years of experience to mentoring, but she is careful to note she's still in the middle of her own path, building businesses and learning new areas of AI alongside her mentees.

"I never want to sit across from someone with the attitude, 'I have figured it all out. Let me tell you what to do.' My perspective is much more, 'I have walked through some things you may be encountering now. Let me share what I learned, including what I might do differently today if I were you.'"

She describes what that experience is worth when passed along:

"If something that took me ten years to understand can help someone make a clearer decision today, that makes the experience meaningful beyond my own career. That is why I think of mentors as time accelerators. They do not eliminate the journey or the effort. They can simply shorten the distance between uncertainty and clarity."

A Shift in Language That Signals Real Change

Sunitha has mentored more than 24 women through Women in Tech and many more outside the forum, spanning different countries, cultures, career stages, and professional backgrounds. Across that range, she noticed recurring themes: self-advocacy, finding their voice, navigating leadership, and asking for what they deserve.

"I have seen hesitation become clarity. I have watched someone who initially questioned herself begin advocating for herself."

She points to a specific shift in language as the clearest marker of that change:

"The moment that captures it best is when the language changes from 'Do you think I can?' to 'This is what I'm doing.' That is when I know something has shifted. Not because I gave her the answer or made the decision for her, but because she no longer needs me to."

She describes the goal of mentorship in those terms:

"Successful mentorship isn't creating dependence on a mentor. It is almost the opposite. It is helping someone reach a place where she trusts her own voice, judgment and ability to move forward. That is why I often think of mentorship as holding up a mirror, not simply to reflect where someone is today, but to help her recognize what she may not yet see in herself."

What Her Mentees Have Taught Her About Leadership

Sunitha expected to be the one doing most of the teaching. Instead, her mentees have reshaped how she leads her own teams.

"Through very candid conversations, I hear what people value in their managers, what makes them feel recognized, what motivates them, what causes them to disengage and what they sometimes wish they could communicate more openly to their leaders."

She brings those insights directly back into her own workplace. "Mentorship also motivates me enormously. There is something incredibly energizing about seeing someone gain clarity, act on a conversation and return with greater confidence."

Her Advice to First-Time Mentors

Sunitha pushes back firmly on the idea that mentoring requires a certain number of years of experience.

"Mentorship isn't about how long you have worked. It is about what your journey has taught you and whether you have the confidence and willingness to share it."

She adds a note on direction:

"Don't enter mentorship believing that experience only flows in one direction. Some of the people I mentor have fewer years of professional experience than I do, yet their perspectives have influenced how I think and even how I lead my own teams today. That, to me, is what makes mentorship so powerful. It isn't a comparison of years. It is an exchange of experience."

Why She Believes Mentorship Matters

Sunitha reflects on how much of her own learning came from figuring things out the hard way.

"There are things that took me years to understand that one conversation with the right person might have helped me see much earlier. That is why I call mentorship the shortcut that truly matters. Not a shortcut around hard work or experience, but a shortcut to perspective."

She also widens the definition of who a mentor can be. "We shouldn't look for mentors only in boardrooms, senior titles or formal mentoring programs. Sometimes the person who gives you the perspective you need is already around you. It could be a friend, a pastor or a relative."

She sums up what mentorship ultimately offers:

"You still have to walk your own road. You just don't have to discover every turn the hard way."

What She Recommends

When asked for a book, tool or resource recommendation, Sunitha is candid that she isn't much of a reader. "I am much more of a listener and an observer. A lot of my learning over the years has come from podcasts, interviews and simply listening to people talk about their lives and journeys."

Rather than naming a title or someone to follow, her recommendation is a habit:

"Understand how you learn best. Listen. Observe. Stay curious. Keep upgrading yourself. And don't only study people's successes. Pay attention to the journey that created them."

Thank you, Sunny, for showing that mentorship is not about having all the answers, but about shortening the distance between uncertainty and clarity for the women who come after you.

Ready to move from "Do you think I can?" to "This is what I'm doing"?

Sunny's story shows that the right conversation at the right time can save years of figuring things out alone. Join the Women In Tech mentorship community and find the perspective that accelerates your own journey.

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