Lewis Moody’s rugby CV is stellar: 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, three Six Nations titles with England including one Gland Slam, two triple crowns, seven premiership trophies with Leicester Tigers, two European cups, an Anglo-Welsh cup.
And, for completeness, the caps tally: 71 for England (39 as captain); three for the British & Irish Lions; 233 for the Leicester Tigers; 34 for Bath.
No longer “a former rugby player”
But Lewis Moody no longer sees himself as a rugby player, or even a former rugby rugby. He has undergone a change of career, and with it identity, which he hopes will see him through to his target retirement age of 60.
“If you’d asked me to describe what I do 12 months ago I’d have struggled to give you an answer,” says Moody, 46.
“It’s been about finding my passion and making my passion my career. It’s only recently that I’ve become comfortable saying I’m an executive performance coach.”
He works with C-suite types to help them unlock their full potential.
“I felt I didn’t have any experience or skills”
This is his third personal rebrand: first was Lewis Moody the rugby player; second was Lewis Moody boss of Maddog, a company he set up with his wife, Annie, to coach rugby in schools following retirement from the pro game in 2012; now this, Lewis Moody 3.0, a move into the corporate world as an exec coach.
“After retiring my identity was still so entwined with rugby. I was uncomfortable saying I was anything other than a rugby player because I felt I didn’t have any experience or skills in anything else,” Moody says.
“I’m an exec performance coach”
For the past five years Moody has been learning about, and getting qualified in, coaching – not on the rugby paddock but in the boardroom – and he’s fallen in love with it.
He credits his Leicester and England team-mate Danny Hipkiss for “nagging” him to explore it, and his mentor Simon Wilshire for guiding him. Moody now has a roster of clients all over the world – founders, CEOs etc. He works for Haddon Coaching and for his own firm, KBM Inspired.
“I apply a lot of the techniques and lessons I learned in my rugby career as well as new knowledge I’ve acquired more recently. I now have the aptitude, insights and skills to apply to my new purpose, and that feels pretty good,” he says.
“I wish I’d made this shift 10 years earlier but I listened to poor advice: people saying ‘you should do commentary’ or ‘you should do leadership speeches’ neither of which floated my boat.
“But you learn by doing, and now I’ve learnt I’m more than just one thing.
“Who knows? Maybe in 10 years’ time I’ll have a go at something else but for now the coaching gig is great.”
The timing for this new chapter is good.
Moody’s two sons are fairly self-sufficient now. Dylan, 17, is a pro football goalie at Southampton FC. Ethan, 15, is still in school but growing up fast.
Are you up to speed on rugby these days?
“I still love the game but I’ve never been a ‘rugby naus’ like some guys. I barely watch any club games other than one or two Bath and Leicester matches I get invited to.
“I watch all the internationals and go to all England home games at Twickenham with Engage group, which is nice and keeps me connected to the game.
“With Dylan playing for Southampton, I watch more football than rugby these days.”
Is there life after rugby?
“Yes … it’s just taken some discovering.”
