Own Your Agency, Create Change, and Make an Impact with Dr. Alessandra Wall

We’ve got a return guest today on Adventures in Business: Dr. Alessandra Wall, an executive coach, speaker, author, psychologist, and thought partner to powerful women, joins Mandi and Amani again to discuss owning your agency and crafting the life you want. 

Dr. Alessandra Wall is the founder of Noteworthy and a “recovering psychologist.” Meaning, being a psychologist trained her to be careful, gentle, and methodical. But in advisory and leadership work, that approach can get in the way. Sometimes people just need direct honesty. They need someone who believes they can handle the truth and expects more from them. That’s where growth with Dr. Wall happens.

Why Advisory Work Goes Deeper Than Coaching

For Dr. Alessandra Wall, advisory work is more than coaching. While coaching helps you build skills, Alessandra holds her clients to a higher standard in advisory work, because she knows they’re capable of more. She pushes them past surface-level goals and into the uncomfortable questions – like why they’re doing what they’re doing in the first place.

Mandi, who has worked closely with Alessandra, points out how valuable her psychology background really is. Even when Alessandra doesn’t “lead with the PhD,” the science shows up in how she helps people think, decide, and lead.

How Dr. Alessandra Wall Helps Clients Find Motivation

Through a powerful live coaching moment, Dr. Wall walks Amani through a series of “to what end?” questions that peel back layers until they reach the core truth: his work isn’t just about music business education. It’s about preserving art with soul. It’s about making sure creativity doesn’t get lost to fear, exploitation, or convenience.

When motivation is tied only to revenue or metrics, it burns out fast. When it’s tied to impact, it fuels you for the long haul.

Why Some People Avoid Growth

So why do some people avoid making changes, even when they know exactly what they should do? Dr. Wall breaks it down biologically: humans are wired to avoid discomfort. Our brains treat it like danger, even when it isn’t.

That’s why avoidance shows up in so many forms: over-scrolling, procrastination, and over-planning instead of acting. Growth requires sitting in discomfort long enough to learn from it. And while that’s hard, it’s also where agency lives.

Agency: The Power to Direct Your Life

Dr. Wall gives us a great definition of agency: the power to take action and shape the quality of your life. While none of us control everything, too many people give up the control they do have by staying stuck, collecting insight without acting, or waiting for the “perfect” choice.

Agency is choosing to participate in your own life, even when the choices aren’t comfortable.

Don’t Let AI Do Your Thinking

While Dr. Wall is clear that she loves AI, she also offers a warning: instinct erodes when we outsource our thinking to it. When leaders ask AI to identify themes, point out blind spots, or tell them what they should be saying, they miss the opportunity to develop discernment. 

The real work of instinct requires sitting with uncertainty, noticing patterns yourself, and trusting your ability to make meaning without being spoon-fed conclusions. It’s uncomfortable, but it helps you build confidence and work the muscles of your mind. 

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