Profile: Richard Deutsch

A passion for positive impact

Richard is driven by a passion that has naturally drawn him to roles and organisations that have a positive impact. He is a former Chair of OzHarvest, an Australian charity which rescues excess food and distributes it to those in need. He is also a former Director of Adara Group, a charitable organisation focusing on international development in emerging economies around the world.

Richard is adding the SMG Chair to his other work as Non-Executive Director of Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Limited and Chair of the Board Audit Committee. Richard is also a Champions of Change Coalition Convenor and Advisor to CEOs and Boards across Australia.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of Deloitte Australia, Richard was the Managing Partner of Deloitte Australia’s Audit & Advisory Practice and a member of the Global Audit & Advisory Leadership Team. Before joining Deloitte Richard spent over 25 years with PwC, including 9 years on the Australian Executive in various leadership roles.

SMG: A natural progression for a purpose-driven leader

As someone who gravitates towards organisations that have a strong purpose, Richard is deeply aligned with SMG’s purpose of ‘developing leaders that the world needs’.

“I’ve worked closely with some of the best leadership development talent in the world, and I firmly believe that SMG’s service offering measures up. That’s one of the reasons I’m thrilled to take up this position” Richard commented.

At the heart of Richard’s experience as a leader is an understanding of how to create environments to support and develop people to be their best. In SMG, he sees an organisation with a strong track-record and deep experience helping develop the leadership skills that individuals need in order to allow their people to shine.

Richard believes SMG’s reputation for delivering targeted and impactful programs is well deserved: “SMG’s clients engage them because they know they will receive leading edge leadership development, coaching or mentoring. The depth of talent and experience on SMG’s coaching and mentoring teams enables them to unlock individual and organisational potential – and the impact of that can be phenomenal.”

Five principles of leadership

Richard will be bringing to SMG his own depth of expertise in leadership development, which is guided by a simple idea: “let your teams shine, rather than claiming the spotlight yourself”.

Whilst he acknowledges that every leadership journey is different, there are 5 key leadership principles that have served him well:

Demonstrate Servant Leadership
Leaders who serve others rather than seeking to gain and retain power for themselves enable their teams to perform at higher levels.

Keep in touch with the people you serve
To bring a team, stakeholders or a whole organisation on a journey with you, a leader should keep in touch with the people they serve – whether that is their front-line, customers or board.

Create the right environment
As a leader, surround yourself with teams made up of smart and diverse viewpoints, and actively work to create a culture where everyone feels safe to express their opinions, question the status quo and make decisions.

Be curious
Curiosity is an under-rated component of leadership. Understanding different perceptions by asking probing questions and actively listening enables leaders to uncover insights and valuable perspectives.

Don’t be afraid to change your mind
Related to point 4 – in the face of evidence or persuasion from their team, a true leader should embrace the process of changing their mind and see it as a strength rather than a sign of weakness.

Richard is looking forward to supporting the SMG Partners and working with them and the team as they continue to develop and grow.