Divya Karmagam

I attribute my success to the mentors I've had throughout my professional journey. It is not possible for anybody to grow without the right direction given by a mentor - the mentor could be from the same workplace, or a different workplace, it could be a friend, but I think it's extremely difficult for someone to be successful without a mentor as a leading light. I've had different mentors all along my professional journey, each one shaping how I look at my work, like planning my work, or dealing with customers, dealing with difficult situations, dealing with challenges. I've been fortunate enough to work alongside some of the most talented individuals in the industry, and each of them brings with them a different persona. That has always been the source of inspiration, and the opportunity to have had them as my colleagues and friends, and basically as mentors, has definitely had its impact and is an indispensable part of the success that I am basking in right now. I also believe that continuous learning has been critical - learning has to be a continuous process, and the minute you cease learning, or the minute you think that you know everything, or you know enough is when your downfall starts. Learning and adapting is something of paramount importance for your survival. You evolve, you turn to be a better person, you survive the race only by learning and adapting.

I would tell young women to prioritize themselves, because that's something that I did not do for myself. I just kept putting other things ahead of me, and at some point, that kind of started impacting my health, physical and mental. From my own experience, I want to make sure women understand that you should prioritize yourself, and it doesn't mean you have to sacrifice. Being a woman and balancing so many things at the same time does not come across easy, and the challenges of not being right next to immediate family makes it hard for especially a working women professional. When I resumed my career, my daughter was one year old, and to manage a toddler and household and trying to build a career was not easy. I know firsthand how difficult that phase can be. I tell women in my team to hold on and just understand that it's just pushing a little forward, it's just a phase, it'll pass. I also believe in continuous learning and adapting - if you are resistant to change, resistant to learning, you are going to be obsolete very soon. I benchmark myself against the version of me the previous day, or the previous year - it's always me versus me. I want to be a better human being, a better mother, better parent, and a better professional, and that comes only from continuous learning and evaluating myself on a regular basis.

The most important values to me are continuous learning, self-improvement, and building lasting relationships based on trust. I truly believe that learning has to be a continuous process - the minute you cease learning is when your downfall starts. Learning and adapting is something of paramount importance for survival. I believe in healthy competition, and my biggest competition is myself - it's a version of me that I was yesterday, so it's always me versus me. I try to benchmark myself against the version of me the previous day, or the previous year. I want to be a better human being, a better mother, better parent, and a better professional. In my work, building rapport and establishing long-term relationships with customers based on trust is something I take as a very strong professional achievement. I also value giving back - being able to contribute back to the community and having the opportunity to interact with young minds gives me immense satisfaction. Being a mentor and support for women in my team, helping them navigate tough phases in their life, makes me feel very contented when I look at this whole thing from the larger perspective. It's a cycle, and knowing that those mentees are going to pay it back when time comes is very satisfying.