Dr. Alvina Grosu immigrated to Cork in Ireland from Moldova. A
registered psychologist, she established Culturewise, a
company that fosters mutual understanding between immigrant and
local communities in Ireland. She helps to train the staff of
companies such as the Bank of Ireland, making them more aware of
how to work with people of different backgrounds.
"I started Culturewise as a direct result of my experience
with Common Purpose. I remember one evening we were discussing
diversity, and some of the other participants were asking me about
the foibles they'd noticed in people of different backgrounds. I
found myself explaining it all to them! Some of the other
participants were interested in using my knowledge for their own
businesses and immediately I spotted the opportunity.
"For the first two years at Culturewise, we didn't have to
do any marketing - the contacts I'd made and the reputation I'd
generated meant that clients came to me rather than vice versa.
None of this would have been possible without Common
Purpose."
Alvina had personal reasons for wanting to take part in
Matrix:
"I looked forward to the challenge immensely, but I also
wanted to represent immigrant voices. Common Purpose emphasise the
diversity of their participants and so they really encouraged me to
come along."
"For someone who had not been brought up in Cork, I found
that the course was incredibly useful. I got to know so much about
the town that by the time it finished I felt like I'd been living
here for 25 years! It really made me understand how the city
functions, and the roles of the different organisations within
it."
"My understanding of leadership totally changed. I had
started with a very traditional idea of what made a good leader. I
assumed it was someone who took all the responsibility for
themselves and managed everything from the top down. But Common
Purpose taught me the importance of delegating and sharing the
workload within a team."
"In my own country I was used to only talking to people when
I specifically wanted something from them. But now I see the value
of just getting to know other people socially, and building up
personal relationships with business partners. I've realised that
people tend to do business with those that they like."
