Performance PartnerA Performance Partner is responsible for creating the conditions that enable your managers and leaders to solve the real problems on their plate.A dedicated 10X expert who embeds into your business and is accountable for whether your managers actually execute. Not a trainer who turns up and leaves: someone your people know by name and can pick up the phone to.See full explanation of a Performance Partner
George Petrakos
I learned leadership in elite sport, where performance is visible and judged every week. Across more than 10,000 hours of coaching, my job was to create the human conditions for sustained effort: purpose-driven work, autonomy supportive coaching, opportunities for effectiveness, and multi-level connection. I now bring that lens inside organisations, working with leaders and teams to shape the behavioural and relational conditions that drive effort, learning and retention.
- Coaching hours
- 10,000+
- Rugby World Cup campaigns
- 3
- Years developing performance
- 15+
Coaching hours
Rugby World Cup campaigns
Years developing performance
“The human aspects of effort and performance come from the environment. Get the conditions right (motivation, mastery and purpose) and people bring the rest.”George Petrakos
How George helps
Real problems solved. Development as the by-product.
Environments That Drive Effort
From pressure to sustained performance
I help leaders shape the behavioural and relational conditions that make discretionary effort the norm: clear direction, high trust, and a real sense of belonging. Performance becomes sustainable when the environment is right, not when people are pushed harder.
- Higher discretionary effort
- Stronger team trust
- Performance that holds under pressure
Motivation, Mastery and Purpose
From compliance to ownership
Rooted in self-determination theory, I build intrinsic motivation rather than relying on incentives or mandates, so managers take genuine ownership of their development, their teams, and their results.
- Intrinsic ownership
- Faster skill growth
- Improved engagement and retention
Leadership Under Visible Pressure
From elite sport to the boardroom
I translate the habits of world-class sporting environments (clarity, acknowledgement, honest feedback, shared accountability) into business teams who need to perform when it counts.
- Clearer direction
- An honest feedback culture
- Accountability that sticks
Career
The journey behind the practice.
2026-Present
Performance Partner
10X Managers
Partnering with leadership teams to overcome their hardest challenges and build the conditions for sustained performance.
2019-Present
Director & Lead Coach
Spark Intent
Leading organisations to create environments where motivation, mastery and purpose drive performance, using self-determination theory to spark retention, innovation and productivity.
2025-2026
Human Intelligence for Performance Specialist
Leading-Edge-Performance
Partnering with global business and elite sport, alongside Olympians, national-team coaches and elite military personnel, to enhance team, leadership and organisational performance.
2022-2024
Head of Physical Performance & Staff Development
New England Free Jacks
Led physical performance and staff development for the professional rugby franchise in Boston.
2023
Head of Physical Performance, Rugby World Cup 2023
Federazione Italiana Rugby
Led athletic preparation for Italy's national side through the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
2016-2022
Head of S&C / Senior Performance Coach
Glasgow Warriors & Wasps
Led performance departments for elite rugby clubs, building high-trust, high-autonomy environments aligned to each club's winning model, including physical preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup with Scotland.
2011-2016
Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach, High Performance
University College Dublin
Lead coach to World and European medallists and Rio 2016 qualifiers across athletics, swimming, rowing and rugby, while lecturing and publishing performance research.
Credentials
Qualified to hold the standard.
ICF Accredited Coach
Coaching Certification
Accredited Mediator
Conflict Resolution
Self-Determination Theory Practitioner
Performance Psychology
Founder, Spark Intent
Leadership & Coaching Practice
Co-Founder, GamePlan Collective
Athlete Transition Coaching
Published Researcher, Sports Medicine
Performance Science
Their work
The kind of work George gets stuck into.
A few client stories close to George's focus.
