Cultivating strong culture and a high-performance organisation

At SettleIT, we recently had the pleasure of hosting an insightful webinar, “Cultivating strong culture and a high-performance organisation.” This event featured two esteemed professionals: Dom Meli and Hollia Lam.
Meet the speakers
Hollia Lam is the founder of successful law firm, Lamco, specialising in corporate, commercial, and property law. Before establishing her firm, Hollia managed debt capital market transactions in Hong Kong, honing her skills in high-pressure situations and complex legal issues. Her current practice in Australia focuses on assisting foreign individuals and companies with expanding their operations, particularly in navigating the Australian property market.
Dom Meli brings extensive experience from senior human resources and industrial relations roles in both public and corporate sectors, including positions at BHP and the Ambulance Service of NSW. With over two decades of experience, Dom has managed disputes, negotiated employee agreements, and led performance improvement and change programs. He is now a trusted advisor and consultant, helping organisations develop and deploy sustainable improvement strategies.
Key webinar insights
The webinar began with the broad question: “What does a high-performance organisation look like today?”
Dom Meli emphasised that many organisations feel they are not meeting their goals despite their efforts. However, he identified several key characteristics of high-performing organisations, some being:
Primacy of purpose: Successful organisations have a deep appreciation and commitment to a common purpose.
Urgency of alignment: Alignment is crucial and urgent for organisations today. Competing for customer experience, especially as expertise becomes commoditised and democratised, is vital. Creating meaningful and valued experiences for customers drives success.
Resilience and adaptability: Organisations that are more resilient and adaptable tend to perform better.
Hollia Lam shared her perspective, noting that in larger law firms, the focus is often on meeting billable hours. She questioned whether employees only aim to meet these targets or if they seek something more personally fulfilling. For her, beyond financial gains, flexibility and personal satisfaction are crucial.
Building a positive workplace
The discussion highlighted that getting the most out of employees involves building a positive experience. Successful leaders make their people feel valued, fostering an environment where valuable contributions are made. Hollia emphasised that value resides in the experiences created internally with the workforce and externally with clients, suppliers, and the community.
Dom pointed out that organisations often over-invest in defining their strategy and under-invest in purpose and behaviour. He stressed the importance of focusing on what people do (behaviour) and how they do their work (culture).
Hollia shared her journey of defining her purpose in building her firm. Initially, it took time to figure out her purpose, but over time, she realised her goal was to help clients have a better journey when engaging a lawyer. She wanted to eliminate the fear and anxiety often associated with legal services.
Dom highlighted a significant issue: organisations are failing to get the best out of their employees. In Australia, only about 24% of people are engaged in their work, meaning most people are merely turning up without putting in their best effort. He emphasised the potential impact of moving some of these disengaged employees into the highly engaged pool.
Overall, the webinar highlighted the vital importance of fostering a high-culture organisation and offered practical advice for addressing common challenges faced by today’s workplaces. Organisations need to focus on their purpose, align their goals, and create meaningful experiences for their employees and customers. By doing so, they can foster a more engaged and productive workforce, leading to greater overall success.
At SettleIT, we are committed to helping organisations achieve these goals and look forward to hosting more events that inspire and inform. Stay tuned for future webinars and insights!
To watch a recording of the full 1 hour webinar, click here.
Stay tuned for future webinars and insights!