Available to book
James Mainwaring
Decision Making
Dealing With Pressure
High Performance
A FIFA World Cup assistant referee and decision-making speaker, James Mainwaring translates high-pressure calls into practical frameworks for leadership and resilience. Creator of the CLEAR model, he has officiated in the Champions League and over 150 Premier League matches.
Football
Sports Leadership
Sport
Mentor
Business Consulting
Coach
Professional Development
Personal Development
James Mainwaring is a FIFA World Cup assistant referee and keynote speaker specialising in decision-making under pressure, drawing on more than a decade officiating at the highest level of football.
James has progressed from grassroots football to the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup, where he received four match appointments in 2026, including the Spain v Belgium quarter-final. His other major appointments include the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the 2024 EFL Cup Final, and more than 150 Premier League matches.
That experience sits behind CLEAR, a framework James developed for recognising and diagnosing the different sources of pressure behind an important decision. Built from his own high-stakes officiating and tested through research with leaders across finance, government, technology, and professional sport, it gives organisations a structured way to understand why competent people still hesitate when certainty is not available.
Audiences leave with a practical method for identifying where pressure in a decision is actually coming from, rather than treating it as one undifferentiated force. James translates split-second calls made in front of millions into ideas leaders and teams can apply directly to their own high-pressure moments.
Book James to give teams a clearer, evidence-based way to decide well when the stakes, scrutiny, and clock are all against them.
Topics, sessions and talks
What happens to decision-making when information is incomplete, time is limited, and scrutiny is intense? Drawing on split-second calls in the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup, James Mainwaring explores why pressure is never just one thing, and why understanding where it comes from changes how people respond. Through his CLEAR framework, he gives audiences a practical way to recognise and diagnose the pressures behind a decision, so they can think clearly when certainty is not available.
Some of the most important people in a high-performing team are not the ones in charge. As an assistant referee, James Mainwaring has built a career operating alongside the person ultimately responsible for a decision, knowing when to intervene, challenge, support, or stay silent. Drawing on elite officiating teams, he explores influence without authority, trust, and the skill of backing a leader publicly while being ready to challenge them privately, for anyone whose impact exceeds their job title.
In elite sport, there is not always time to recover from a mistake before performing again. James Mainwaring explores what happens after a decision goes wrong, particularly when the mistake is visible, scrutinised, and impossible to take back. Drawing on experiences from elite football, he examines the difference between reflection and rumination, how high-performing teams respond to errors, and why the quality of the next decision matters more than the mistake that preceded it.
Most leaders already know the right answer. What they lack is the conviction to commit to it publicly, before it is confirmed, and to own it regardless of outcome. James Mainwaring draws on original research with senior leaders across finance, government, technology, and professional sport, alongside a career making calls that are reviewed instantly and impossible to disown, to explain why competent people hesitate under real pressure, and what closes the gap between knowing and acting.
A practical session for leadership teams, built on original research with senior leaders across finance, government, technology, and professional sport. James Mainwaring helps teams identify where their pressure is actually coming from, separating the technical problem from the confidence problem behind a difficult call. Drawing on his experience making decisions under scrutiny as a FIFA World Cup official, he gives teams a shared standard for acting on a decision once it has been made.
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frequently asked questions
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Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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