Woman in the Spotlight: Roshini Gilbert

This month, W@W spoke to Wonder Mom and VP of Services at HealthifyMe: Roshini Gilbert! We covered her incredibly inspiring career journey so far and her unique management approach at work and at home.

Global Shapers: Hi Roshini, we’re excited to feature you as our Woman in the Spotlight this month!

Roshini: Thank you for having me!

GS: Let’s start with a brief introduction!

Roshini: Sure — I was an accountant by profession, I did my CA. When I got married, I came to Bangalore, and took care of accounting for my husband’s family business — I was a typical housewife, who’d go to the office, do a little work and go back home. Then, I got pregnant with triplets! So that stopped whatever ambition or dream I had while pursuing my career. You know — when you’re out of school, you want to become something. And then there’s a completely different turn in life. I was 27 carrying three babies. I used to joke with friends that I lived like a cave woman. I didn’t go out, I didn’t shop, I didn’t do anything. I weighed about 90 kgs! I was completely cut off from everyone other than my family! Then there came a point when I started facing health issues due to my weight. I was actually an athlete when I was in school, and play all kinds of sports. My body got overworked, I had swollen knees and swollen joints, shoulder pains, a bad back. It reached a point where I just broke down, and cried to my mom. And then I told myself — I’m 28 years old, what am I doing? I can’t cut myself off from everything. I used to be so fit! I needed to get back to who I was before my pregnancy. I started working out and there was no looking back from there — when I started losing weight, I got more passionate about working out. I started reading more about fitness, and decided to get certified as a trainer. I didn’t think I would get into training as a profession — after all switching from CA to a personal trainer is not something anyone would think of as a career change. The only thing that was on my mind was that I couldn’t waste my time. I was 28 then, and by 29 I wanted to be something. By the time I was done with all the certifications, I met Tushar, CEO of Healthifyme, and joined the company as a part time trainer. That was 2 years ago — and now I’m VP of Services at Healthifyme.

GS: That’s a great journey, congratulations!

Roshini: <laughs> Thanks! Now I help people with weight loss related issues — in addition to personal training, I also became a counselor / a buddy / a mentor — I felt like that was more important than just making people work out. As a coach, I empathize with my client, empower them, and finally eliminate their negativity!

GS: That’s incredible! So what we typically see with a lot of women is that once they are in their comfort zone, it’s a bit hard to come out of that. For example, you’re out of college, work for a bit, get married, have kids and stay at home. How did you overcome getting out of that and pursuing a career?

Roshini: For me, it was easy. My motivation was sky level. I am an internally motivated person. You’re right, women tend to manage homes, in-laws, parents, kids — but at some point, we should think for ourselves. What am I going to do when my kids are in the fifth standard? They’ll go off and do their own stuff.

That’s something I kept thinking of — if I didn’t do anything now, I’d be stuck at the same pace. For me it was more of a future thinking. I didn’t want to be stuck.

GS: Great food for thought — finding your space and identity!

Roshini: Yes, absolutely. If it wasn’t personal training, I thought of different things — like becoming a teacher. What else was going to make me happy?

Women are super creative up to high school — why should we kill our talents just because we get married?

GS: Yup — we see this massive dropout of women at the workplace.

Roshini: I’m very particular about managing my team — I want everyone to find a role in the company that they are happy doing. We have different functions in the company — some roles only focus on female clients, some are very sales-oriented. Then, there are coaches- who love to do events — they travel and conduct yoga and workout sessions. In my team, I ask people what they want to do, what are they happy doing? And then they pick and choose. I have moved people within teams.

People are happy exploring other things within the company. This way I’m able to retain them.

GS: Fantastic and refreshing approach! Did you introduce this? How did you get buy-in?

Roshini: I joined when we were a team of 4. I basically built my team of 65 experts with this culture of finding the right fit, and realized that moving people around is not a loss. Retaining people in a happy situation is a huge win. People are just happier doing what they like.

GS: What do you think are women’s strengths?

Roshini: Women — they are so methodical, everything is neat, clean and processes are followed.

Women are so easy to work with, you can rely on them easily. Especially women with kids are so disciplined since they are constrained for time!

GS: What are the things you think companies should look at to create a woman friendly workplace?

Roshini: Work from home should be an option. If there is enough transparency in how you work, then work from home is a good option. Flexible hours is extremely important — timing is the main reason why women back out.

GS: Can you tell us a bit about managing work and life?

Roshini: For the first time in my life, I found myself struggling with managing my home. I hired a cook six months ago. I wanted to do everything — I wanted to cook, I wanted to put my kids to bed. I didn’t want anyone else doing it. Now my kids are independent — they are nearly 8 years old. Your support is people at home being independent.

I feel that making sure your home is well managed makes your stronger.

GS: What’s it like taking on more responsibility at work and managing a home?

Roshini: It’s difficult. The support I have makes it easier. I need to make sure I’m around when my kids are eating and going to sleep, but for the most part, I’ve made sure they are independent. By independent, I don’t mean that I’ll cut off communication with them. I’m talking about the physical things. They clean up after themselves, pack their own bags, fold their own clothes. I don’t want to waste time picking up their clothes. And this also makes them more disciplined. I sit with them, eat with them, pray with them and talk to them. This is how I balance work and life. I’m still around when they need me, but they don’t depend on me for basic things. This makes it easier for anyone who is watching them as well.

GS: You’re a wonder mom! Can you tell us about how your spouse supported you?

Roshini: My husband was zapped when I told him I was studying to be a personal trainer. He came with me to Delhi when I was taking an exam. I remember crying to him the night before, holding on to him saying I don’t know why I was doing this. He was like — it’s ok, just do the exam and come back. He waited until I finished the exam. Of course he was used to me being at home, and initially had to get used to the fact that I work full time and had to go into work on weekends. But he never got angry or stopped me from doing it.

GS: The guilt trap — a lot of women have this guilt trap — you want to do everything! You feel like you haven’t given enough time to your home. Have you felt this? How have you dealt with it?

Roshini: Oh yes, definitely! When the kids were young, they came home earlier, and I couldn’t get home that early. Now they are home by around 3:30, and I’m usually home by 5, but it gets late sometimes. What has worked for me is that there is a time table for everything — food, bath time, prayer time etc. It’s difficult, but it’s become a habit for them. I feel less guilty knowing that there are doing what they’re supposed to whether I’m there or not. I make sure that I’m there for quality time with them — praying, eating and going to bed.

GS: What would be your advice for young women pursuing careers?

Roshini: Don’t let go of your dreams. Just because you have little children, don’t let go of that dream. It is a phase and it will pass — keep building yourself up in that period, don’t lose that time. I used that period to get trained and get certified to make sure that by the time my kids are older, I have something in me that a company could recognize.

GS: What a great and inspiring story! Anything else you’d like to add for our W@W subscribers?

Roshini: Enjoy what you’re doing. We all have responsibilities but do what makes your happy as a person.

Don’t kill your dreams just because you’re married or have kids.