What Coaching in 10 Countries Taught Me About Leadership

Over the course of my career, I've had the privilege of coaching in Australia, China, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, and the United States. Each experience was different. Each culture brought new challenges. But every single one reinforced the same fundamental truth.

The Universal Language

Basketball is played the same way everywhere. Five players, one ball, two hoops. But the way you lead people — that changes with every culture, every team, every individual.

When I coached the Shanghai Sharks in China, I had to adapt my communication style completely. Direct, Australian-style feedback didn't land the same way. I learned to adjust, to listen more, to find new ways to build trust before I could build a team.

In New Zealand with the Southland Sharks, the environment was different again. Smaller budget, tighter community, but an incredible passion for the game. The leadership principles were the same — but the application had to change.

What I Learned

1. Listen before you lead. Every new team, every new culture requires you to understand before you can be understood. The best coaches I've seen — and the best leaders in any field — are relentless listeners.

2. Principles are universal; methods are not. The principle of accountability applies everywhere. But how you hold someone accountable in Shanghai is different from how you do it in Perth or Invercargill. Great leaders adapt their methods without compromising their principles.

3. Vulnerability builds trust faster than authority. I learned this the hard way. In my early years, I thought being the coach meant having all the answers. Coaching internationally taught me that admitting what you don't know builds more trust than pretending you know everything.

4. Development matters more than results. In every country I coached, the teams that focused on developing people — not just winning games — ended up achieving more in the long run. The Perth Wildcats championship team was built on this principle. So was every successful program I've been part of since.

Bringing It Home

These lessons are now central to what I teach in the Centre of Excellence. Because coaching isn't just about basketball. It's about leadership. And leadership is about people — regardless of where they're from, what language they speak, or what level they play at.

If you can learn to lead across cultures, you can lead anywhere.

— Bevo