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VAULT Associates

Name: VAULT Associates
Address: Alexandria, VA, US
Telephone: +17034179411

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VAULT Associates

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Improving Leader, Team, & Organization Effectiveness // Leadership Coaching

“You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” ~Albert Einstein

How We Can Help:

We act as your trusted advisor, an objective set of eyes, with executive experience and years of dealing with complex organization and leadership problems. We start with your business objectives--increasing sales, improving customer satisfaction, decreasing cycle time--and then determine the leadership behaviors and team performance necessary to achieve those goals. With a combination of coaching and development, we work with you to move towards the desired outcomes. When should you call VAULT?

• If you are a leader who knows the status quo won’t get you where you want to go…you need a jump start to break through to new outcomes, whether personal, professional, or organizational

• If the leadership behaviors and team performance in your organization is negatively impacting your ability to achieve your business objectives.

• If you are keeping things on an even keel—barely-- yet you know that business performance could be so much better…you are just not sure where to start

• If you are in a new leadership position and want to get a running start on this opportunity: 90 day transition plans, energizing for new missions/new teams, new manager support

• If you were really great at what you did before and--congratulations, you received a promotion to manager or executive. Now you are operating at a whole new level and are feeling a bit overwhelmed on how to deal with the expectations and be effective

10/15/2026

"Whatever you do today,
do it with the confidence
of a 4-year-old in a Batman shirt."
~unknown

10/08/2026

Where does innovation start?

Rarely, if ever, is it a lightning bolt out of the blue, Ben Franklin and the kite experiment notwithstanding. The kite thing was just one part of a long series of Franklin’s inquisitive attempts.

Innovation begins with grounding in the fundamentals...and then letting what you think you know go.

A while back I attended the “Envisioned Strings” violin concert at the George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria. I know next to nothing about classical music and even less about the violin. My neighbor's daughter was playing back-up on one of the songs so I went along for a show of support.

The evening began with a very skilled quartet playing Bach and Mendelssohn. Precise ex*****on. What I imagined the violin was all about.

And then…everything I assumed about the violin was turned around. Black-Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” on violin? Eminem “Lose Yourself” on violin? The Dueling Fiddlers, Adam DeGraff and Russell Falstad--both exceptional classically trained violinists—moved the violin into new places.

This was not prim and proper. This was raw, emotional, physical. They had me transfixed.

My 'light bulb' moment?

This innovation of music was only possible with a solid grounding in fundamentals. To ease mash-ups Rap, Rock, or Hip Hop out of the strings required mastery in creating the music the violin was designed to play. When innovating, it helps to have something solid to launch from and then turn it around into something new.

A quick list of people who have game-changed their industry--Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Michael Dell, Warren Buffet, Henry Ford, Elon Musk. Two things are very clear:
1. They each had deep mastery of the fundamentals of their craft allowing them to divert and experiment with the 'unknown' spaces.
2. They each had far more tries and fails than successes.

In music, the fundamentals of Johan Sebastian Bach--a classic now, but in his time quite the innovator in music development--are still the grounding that many creative and innovative performers use as their own point of departure.

Listen to the guitar riff at the beginning of Guns and Roses “Sweet Child of Mine”--Can you hear the influence of Bach’s counterpoint?

If you want to be more innovative, focus on mastering the basics and then turning it around in new and unexpected ways. See what the Dueling Fiddlers do for AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cjymPx4xJg)

I’m hearing music I know done in ways I don’t expect and it’s shifted my perspective—isn’t that what innovation is all about?

Photo credit: © Komprach Sapanrat | Dreamstime.com

10/01/2026

"How often do we go through the pain of 'ripping off the band-aid'
when letting it soak in warm water and float off would accomplish the same purpose?"
Coach Jane, VAULT Associates

09/24/2026

What ‘Boss History’ Drives YOUR Leadership Style?
K., an executive with a global technology provider, shared a story about an experience early in her career that shaped the leadership presence she has today.

"I had an appointment with my boss to discuss some concerns I had on a big project I was working. I felt it was important that my boss be informed of the potential impact for the direction we were taking.
I was shown into his office. He never took his eyes off his computer, just said “Sit down, what do you need?”
I knew how to talk with executives so I kept it short with the salient facts and clear implications laid out.
He never looked at me. He was doing something on his computer the whole time, interjecting “uh-huh” while I spoke.
I asked if he had any questions or needed more information. There were a few minutes of silence, while his fingers moved across the keyboard. Then he turned to me and said, “You should do this, this and this…anything else?”
I was so shocked by his abrupt approach I didn’t know how to respond, so I left the office.
In my opinion, the advice he gave me at the end had nothing to do with the problem I had presented. But I’m thinking…”he’s an executive so he must know something I don’t,” so I went away to mull it over.
I just couldn’t see how his approach would do anything to better the program, so I made a decision to go in the original direction and it turned out fine.
Maybe that was his hidden agenda… to get me to commit to a direction on my own. But I honestly don’t think he gave it that much forethought. I think he was just not listening.
I left my highly-anticipated meeting feeling very deflated. Here was a chance to connect with my boss on something I felt was very important, and he spent the whole time responding to emails, and then jumped right to a conclusion that seemed totally inappropriate for the issue I had presented.
My project worked out very well and I decided to move on to another company.
That ‘boss meeting’ experience is still a vibrant memory today, years later. I vowed I would never be a manager like that.
When I have an appointment with an employee, I block out all distractions and let them talk, listening for how I can help them work through the issue. I try not to judge or jump to a solution too fast. I want them to leave my office feeling heard, understood, and valued.
Who wouldn’t want to work with a boss like that?
K. is giving her employees the gift of her time and interest. She demonstrates mindfulness by being fully present and non-judgmental with her employees and empathy by trying to understand the issues from their perspective and refraining from jumping to a boss-focused solution."

What boss experiences have you had that influenced your leadership presence?

Photo: Nadiia Korol

09/17/2026

"There is no passion to be found playing small - settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
Nelson Mandela

09/10/2026

Have you ever felt your smallness?

I was in Iceland and had the good fortune to have one absolutely clear night in a notorious winter of snow, rain, high winds, and cloudy skies.

The 'northern lights' were visible in full force. I have never experienced anything so spectacular!

As the light green 'clouds' twisted into long lazy ropes and then flattened into wide flowing curtains, my first impulse was to capture this amazing moment on film. After three or four shots leaving only a black screen, I put my little camera away and made a choice to just immerse myself in the show without being preoccupied with light settings and aperture speeds.

By pocketing my camera, I was now fully engaged in the present.

The heavens showed its glory on a grand scale that night. The spectacle went on for almost two hours, in a constantly changing dynamic of shapes, lengths, colors, intensity. At several points I was surrounded by a 360 degree panorama of light formations.

Lying on the icy moss in the dark, breathing in the frosty air, soaking in this natural wonder, I felt so grateful to be alive at that moment.

And I acutely felt my smallness, a speck of carbon in the cosmos seeing this immense glory.

I felt humbled by that feeling of insignificance. And awed…open…grounded. And I realized there's been too little awe in my daily life.

Sometimes I get too wrapped up in myself and what I want. Does this happen to you too?

I act like the world revolves around me. I close myself to what is going on outside of what is important to me.
I don't acknowledge the robin chirping outside my office window, heralding the coming of warmer days.
I don't hear the doubt in my friend’s voice as she struggles to make a difficult decision.
I don't really listen when my husband tells me about his day.
I don't slow down to appreciate the tart creaminess of the lemon-tahini dressing on my salad.

Feeling my infinite smallness against the vast wonders of the northern sky was a startling reminder that being open to each encounter, to be fully present with what is in front of me right now, to relish the ethereal dynamics of that moment, is where joy and awe live.

Photo: chris kolaczan@Shutterstock

09/03/2026

When you don't know
the answer
the possibilities
are endless.
Practice not knowing
the answer.
~Coach Jane

08/27/2026

What can mindfulness and an increased understanding of neuroscience do for you?

• Improve mental focus and reduce mind wandering
• Extend our attention span
• Discourage black-and-white thinking
• Assist in staying organized, managing time, and setting priorities
• Lift us from a constant, low level of panic and guilt

How do you achieve mindfulness and reduce the chaos? Just B-R-E-A-T-H-E.
That’s it. Nothing else on your mind except your focus on your breath. (Warning: easier said than done…that’s why they call it a ‘practice’). I find 10-15 minutes of this type of concentration in the morning dramatically improves my clarity and effectiveness. When I’m too busy, stressed, or spinning, even just a 1-minute breathing break will get me back on track towards the most important things.

Can you spare 1 minute to gain more clarity in your life?

08/20/2026

"Hold your course through the storm
You'll find sun above those clouds."
~ Coach Jane

08/13/2026

How effective are you when you’re multitasking?
I recently helped a young man with his resume and asked about his character strengths. His answer: “Multitasking. I can get several things done at the same time.”
As a coach—and as an employer—that answer raised a flag.
In today’s fast-paced workplace, the real strength isn’t juggling everything at once. It’s staying focused in the middle of constant distractions. Research continues to show that multitasking often takes more time and leads to lower-quality work.
So here’s the question: how much is multitasking reducing your effectiveness?

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