James Laughlin is a renowned specialist in achieving high-performance cultures, helping global CEOs, organisations, and top athletes to perform at their very best in his roles of Leadership Strategist & Executive Coach at James Laughlin Leadership and High Performance Leadership Coach – Mental Skills at Canterbury Rugby Union. He goes further to share his next-level expertise and wisdom as host of the #1 ranked Apple podcast, Lead on Purpose. When he’s not doing all that, he welcomes the opportunity to deliver insightful, game-changing talks for teams seeking a refreshing perspective that presents inspiration and motivation, covering topics such as leadership, habits, personal mastery, wellbeing, and productivity.
James’ story began in Ireland, where he had an honest upbringing – but lost his way during his school years. However, he soon discovered his love of drumming, and had become a two-time world champion by 14. By 2006, he had become Head of Pipe Band Drumming at St Andrews College, where he developed a programme that led the team to become the first-ever world champions from New Zealand. He is a seven-time world champion in pipe band drumming himself, and over 14 years, led his group to achieve a consecutive 13 national titles.
Discovering his knack for leadership and high performance, he became a Co-Director of Laughlins Limited in 2009, and soon founded James Laughlin Leadership in 2017, where he became Leadership Strategist & Executive Coach. In 2022, he joined Canterbury Rugby Union as High Performance Leadership Coach – Mental Skills. In 2021, James launched his Lead on Purpose podcast, a platform that he uses to spread his transformational message and interview prestigious thought leaders such as former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir John Key; former All-Blacks Rugby captain and world champion, Kieran Read; and former NFL star and American Ninja Warrior, Anthony Trucks. He also published his book, Habits of High Performance in 2025, a practical guide to making high performance a reality.
Now a highly sought-after leadership coach and speaker, James has crafted a powerful framework that provides leaders with the tools needed to transform their teams and organisations. He can bring signature keynotes including “The High Performance Habit” and “Next-Level Leadership: Wisdom from the World’s Best”, which consist of innovative methods for mastering peak performance in both life and business. James can also tailor his speeches to the event and the audience, whether focusing in on strategy, productivity, high-performance, confidence, leadership, motivation, or wellbeing. No matter what, James promises an inspiring and vibrant experience guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on all who attend.
James Laughlin's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Leadership
- Habits
- Personal Mastery
- Change
- High-Performance Culture
- Wellbeing
- Productivity
- Strategy & Planning
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events:
Feedback from In-Person Events:
“James is an incredibly motivating and inspiring coach. After having the opportunity to attend HPL, I finished the week in super thinking mode, taking the time to reflect and reaccess my goals, motivations and purpose. I came out of the week feeling more inspired, ready to break a few bad habits and create some new ones, setting my targets a little higher with the steps in place to achieve them. I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to attend the HPL course or connect with James when you get the chance.” - Gabrielle B, People & Culture Business Partner, WARREN AND MAHONEY
“My monthly catch ups with James have increasingly become a critical part of my professional and personal lives. It allows me to focus, to reboot and to reflect. I cannot recommend him highly enough.” - Amy C, Acting Marketing & Business Development Director, Davis Ogilvie
“James has mentored me for the last year in a 1:1 setting and has been a really amazing resource and person to draw from. He is there to listen to whatever I am concerned about and then delivers world class actionable advice. He has been the biggest reason for my success and I would recommend him to anymore serious about excellence.” - Gareth M, Owner, Melia Marketing
“A huge shout out to James for an inspiring, energetic and insightful presentation to our team. The messaging was clear, easy to absorb and practical in its application. Everyone went home with a pathway forward and the results have been measurable and long lasting. To James’s credit he had researched our industry, understood his audience and was able to talk with true, authentic clarity.
I am very happy to recommend James, his wisdom is suitable to any workplace environment and level of staff.”- David C, Village Manager, Ryman Healthcare
“James recently spoke at our annual Livestock Conference. He was an engaging, energetic speaker who bought some really great insights for our team.” - Chris S, Independent Advisor, South Island Agricultural Field Days
“James delivered a powerful and engaging session with our NZ team last week. The feedback from our team was great and I had so many personal takeaways and reminders on a range of fronts. I left inspired and energized and now look forward to putting the learnings into place. James put a lot of care and attention to ensure he hit the brief and he is a real professional. Should anyone want to reach out to discuss further I would be happy to! Thanks James, your a great guy to match the amazing content!” - Shaun M, Managing Director, Stellar Recruitment
“James genuinely wants others to succeed and this can be seen through his willingness to connect with the best of the best and bring his learnings back to the table to share with all. I highly recommend James to anyone wanting to step out of mediocrity in life.” - Alan S, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Harcourts Holmwood
- 2025 – Published “Habits of High Performers”
- 2021 – Launched “Lead on Purpose” podcast
- 2022 – High Performance Leadership Coach at Canterbury Rugby Union
- 2017 – Leadership Strategist & Executive Coach at James Laughlin Leadership
- 2009 – Co-Director at Laughlins Limited
- 2006 – Head of Pipe Band Drumming at St Andrews College
How to hire James Laughlin
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring James Laughlin for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
