Meet Ally Sprague | Leadership Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ally Sprague and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ally, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Having friends and family who encourage me to think bigger and always remind me who I am and why I do this when I question myself or feel uncertain. I love what I do—coaching with someone, getting to witness their journey, being a partner to them as they discover who they want to be feels like a true privilege. I think a big factor of my success is that I can always return to a pure love for the craft of coaching. I find it totally, utterly engaging, even after thousands of sessions.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As a Leadership Coach, I help CEOs, Founders, and Executives access new levels of performance and fulfillment. My clients typically come to me at some sort of transition moment — raising a round, making a career change, stepping into a new role — and they’re ready to level up and dig deeper. At its core, our work is about developing a deeper, more honest understanding of their inner world and revolutionizing their relationship with themselves so they can build a life they’re proud of.

Building my practice was not easy, but it did feel very natural. After my first coach training course, I remember thinking, “Oh yeah, this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” So even in the challenging moments, I feel clarity that this is where I’m supposed to be. The two biggest lessons I’ve learned from building my business:

1) Rejection is part of being courageous — I was a straight-A student (eyeroll), and while I knew logically that rejection would be part of building a business, there was still a part of me that thought if I was good enough, I would avoid it entirely. Through building my practice, I’ve come to learn that rejection is the price of entry to do something courageous and inspired. If you’re not getting any “no’s,” you’re playing it too safe.

2) Curiosity is infinitely powerful — The craft of coaching is all about how long you can stay genuinely curious. Next time you’re listening to someone else, see how long you can stay curious. For most of us, it doesn’t take more than 2 seconds before our own stories and judgments kick in and cloud our curiosity. Building my practice has shown me over and over again the magic that happens when you extend your curiosity: people WILL surprise you, but only if you let them!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
hmmm… I love the outdoor activities Austin has to offer, so I’d send a friend to Barton Springs (of course!) for an early-morning dip in the very cold, natural spring water. I’d tell them to go wake surfing on Lake Austin. I’d tell them to picnic at Zilker. And I’d probably send them to Uroko, a lesser known sushi spot, for some hand rolls.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems has had a meaningful impact on me and my coaching philosophy. Practicing IFS personally has helped me build a stronger connection with myself and has taught me to collaborate more effectively with my inner critic. As a coach — specifically, as a coach who works with high-performing clients who tend to have loud inner critics — IFS has revolutionized how I support them in developing foundational self-confidence and self-trust.

Website: https://www.allysprague.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ally-sprague-3b03262a/