profile: roulettei gildersleeve
by kelle olwyler

Among the many highlights of being a writer is the opportunity to meet and interview some of the most interesting and memorable people in our Western North Carolina mountains. It was on November 2nd of this year that I had the privilege of meeting one.
Roulettei L. Gildersleeve lives in a little bit of heaven at the end of a long gravel driveway, surrounded by a forest—an appropriate place for the angel she turned out to be.

I had heard about Roulettei (pronounced Rouletta) from two very different sources . . . a perceptive friend and from my editor who had gotten her name from MMF (Mountain Microenterprise Fund) as a potential feature interview. As these were both excellent sources, I was looking forward to our meeting. But I wasn’t prepared for the woman who welcomed me into her cozy cottage and who spent four hours in deep conversation, answering my very personal questions with grace and a flow of wisdom that touched me deeply.

Her professional know-how runs deep. She has extensive experience in organizational transformation in telecommunications, manufacturing, service and the public sectors. As we talked, it became clear she has an aptitude for merging thoughts, practices, styles and cultures that go hand-in-hand with organizational and community change. And she has had an effective but gentle hand in leading Human Resource departments and serving on task forces for change.

When I spoke with Roulettei by phone to set up our interview, I was struck by her genuineness. We talked for an hour, and I got a sense of her heart and what she cared about. It wasn’t until I read the biography I asked her to send me that I realized the depth of her commitment to good work and that, as modest as she is, the world insists on honoring her for those works. The YWCA, an organization she has been involved with as a volunteer since the mid 1980’s, named her outstanding volunteer 4 years in a row (that’s four years!) and in 1996 inducted her into the Academy of Women Achievers. In 1995 she was named Woman of the Year for Women in Cable and Telecommunications. She was an active volunteer for the Northwest Georgia Girl Scout Council; she is an alumna of Leadership Atlanta, and now, as a resident of North Carolina, Leadership America North Carolina (LANC) has named her as one of their 2003 class participants, making her part of a growing and powerful network of senior-level women in business, government, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state and nation. Gayle Anderson, President of the LANC Board of Directors believes LANC provides a conduit for successful women who want to achieve and advance, who understand change and who want to make things happen. Roulettei certainly fits that profile.

But like many, Roulettei has made a big change in her life recently, leaving a very successful corporate career to start her own coaching and consulting business in North Carolina. She’s very clear that, “Corporate America has been good to me; I have no complaints.” The fast pace at which things were changing due to technology and regulations was causing a change in how people were regarded. She was afraid that if she stayed, she might become callous out of sheer exhaustion and succumb to the impersonal way of dealing with people. It took time to extract herself from the pay, the prestige and the great resources backing her, but she was very clear that these things alone were not enough to provide a full life. Her boss and her professional coach supported her investigation into starting her own consulting business, and in 2000, Gildersleeve Consulting was born.

“I’m really more of a reluctant businesswoman,” laughed Roulettei, as she explained that she had never had the burning desire to be her own boss or call all the shots or be the lone person on the front line. She’s more someone who likes being in the background, rolling up her “Gildersleeves” to help get the real work done. “I never minded others being out in front,” and yet here she is, running her own business, and doing all the things that any entrepreneur would have to do. It’s not a bad fit, even though she may have a question or two about it, as in Roulettei’s business, it’s all about relationship, and she does relationship extraordinarily well. Whether it is coaching an executive, sitting with a reporter on the floor in a cozy cottage, or working with BMW, she knows it’s not about the words you say, but about the relationships you develop and the energy you project. “There is a disconnect between what employees do, and how it supports the mission they are supposed to be working toward,” says Roulettei. “There is a disconnect between those who do the work and those who create strategies for change. It is these kinds of discontinuities that cause unhappiness, confusion, and have a negative effect on a bottom line; if I have the opportunity to assist people in making those connections, that’s what truly excites me.”

As I typically do, I asked her to say a little more about what she meant, sensing that we were getting to something really good here. She continued, “It’s about FLOW, BALANCE, HONOR, EQUALITY, and RESPECT. There’s nothing wrong with profit being an outcome of those energies, and no reason we should have lack. But we must do it all from a good intention. The question for us all then becomes, ‘How do I express my good intentions through business?’ That is a question I have been answering for myself.” Some of Roulettei’s resulting understandings are important in a world gone somewhat mad: no manipulating or applied force; understand that everyone has choice; listen for what’s in their minds and in their hearts; apply the principle of equality of exchange; listen behind the words and between the words; this applies to all aspects in business.

Roulettei is an eclectic woman who brings a vast lifetime of experiences into her consulting work. Born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, she grew up in the of time of the civil rights movement, yet in an insulated environment that kept her protected within the African-American community, and away from the seething world of change. She still carries the memory of being with her father and god-father as they drove Martin Luther King, Jr. to the airport. On their way back, their car was stopped by the sheriff; they were pulled out of the vehicles, and harassed while their vehicle was searched repeatedly. It was through her parents that she learned much about non-violent philosophy. As a college freshman, she began studying Russian, and spent the summer of that year in Russia. She’s an accomplished musician, and during several years living in Germany, played bass in a jazz trio. Upon her return to the US, she played electric bass for 10 years in a concert and dance band throughout the Southeast, that is until she got her first job in Human Resources and a new direction was set. She finished her BA in Business Management and Economics from Shaw University and a Master of Public Administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

When Roulettei left corporate America and settled into the Western North Carolina mountains, she took several months to simply “watch the grass grow.” She spent time reflecting on what her business should reflect about her. She found MMF, which she calls a nurturing, grassroots, business incubation program. MMF, an organization that, provides a seven-week workshop on how to create or expand a business. “But it doesn’t end there,” says Roulettei. “Through our participation in the community Business Alliance that we ‘students’ formed, we continue to meet and support innovative entrepreneurs in diverse disciplines.” She and her fellow participants have found that their continued association with MMF provides business resources that seem to multiply each year. “It’s heartening to know,” she continues, “that we are forming relationships—business and personal – that can last as long as we do.”

She loves being in North Carolina, and spends time as a volunteer at Adawehi Healing Center, the Pacolet Area Conservancy, and the Thermal Belt Friendship Council.

As we talked, I found my heart opening to this woman in a special way. She has done a lot of learning, and the wisdom shines through, along with a modesty that comes from knowing her learning never ends. It’s not that her experience is hugely different from other women’s. Rather, it is the calmness and the compassion with which she seems to hold her own—and others’—experiences. Isn’t that what we all want, to be held with compassion?
As we wound up our interview, she pulled out chicken, rice, and salad, and we shared a delicious meal. As I drove away, I thought to myself, “Who is this woman?” The answer came quickly. She is grace. She is accessible. She has a timeless beauty. She has the kind of voice that rolls over you and soothes, regardless of her mood or tone. Now in her early fifties, she knows what it means to “walk the talk” and to have all parts of herself moving into becoming one whole person. She is a “hunter,” someone who stalks truth within herself and in her involvements, because she knows that these are the places where growth and change occur.
Keep your eyes open for Roulettei, a woman who has a hard-won talent for understanding change, and for making things happen.

Roulettei L. Gildersleeve is principal of Gildersleeve Consulting, which specializes in executive coaching, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. She can be reached at 828-863-4346 or rgildersleeve@alltel.net.

Kelle Olwyler is President of Kel Bergan Consulting, a management consulting and executive coaching company specializing in helping professionals, executives and teams get results that solve problems and support transformation. She can be emailed at kolwyler@bellsouth.net.

Mountain Microenterprise Fund 828-253-2834 website: mtnmicro.org