VAULT Associates

VAULT Associates 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 leaders

hip 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

When you don't knowthe answerthe possibilitiesare endless.Practice not knowingthe answer.~Coach Jane
09/03/2026

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

What can mindfulness and an increased understanding of neuroscience do for you? • Improve mental focus and reduce mind w...
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?

"Hold your course through the stormYou'll find sun above those clouds."~ Coach Jane
08/20/2026

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

How effective are you when you’re multitasking?I recently helped a young man with his resume and asked about his charact...
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?

If I want to feeltrue EMPATHY for others,I need to work on true COMPASSION for myself... Less "No Pain, No Gain.".. More...
08/06/2026

If I want to feel
true EMPATHY for others,

I need to work on
true COMPASSION for myself.
.. Less "No Pain, No Gain.".. More "Relish the Effort."

~Coach Jane

Do you have “Half” Conversations or “Whole” Ones?A colleague and I were working on a project last week and making good p...
07/30/2026

Do you have “Half” Conversations or “Whole” Ones?

A colleague and I were working on a project last week and making good progress. Each day we met and interacted on goals, plans, steps, outcomes. He seemed very excited about his part in this and was eager to get started.

Then Thursday during our meeting I noticed a subtle change in his presence. It was like a haze had engulfed him and some of the shine was gone. At one point as I was talking a subtle flash of pain came over his face and he winced slightly.

I used to be one of those managers who believed your personal life stops at the door to the office. Like somehow you could split yourself in two—work and personal.

The old me would have made a comment about paying attention to our task at hand.

Instead I decided to be curious, to recognize him as a whole person with a complex life, to have a “whole” conversation, instead of just focusing on the business “half”.

What's wrong?
-- Nothing I'm fine.
There's obviously something going on. I can see it in your face. There’s no energy in your eyes. Your body seems hunched over.
-- It's fine. It has nothing to do with work.
Well, yes. It has everything to do with work. If this is bothering you, whatever it is, it is affecting our work together.
-- After a big sigh, he says "I just found out I have to go to court next week as a character witness."
So what's making you feel anxious about that?
-- I don't have good things to say about this person and she thinks I do. I’m going to tell the truth.
Well it sounds like you feel anxious about this conflict between your value of integrity and telling what you know and your last relationship with this person.
-- Yes. I know I want to tell the truth and I don’t think that will be very helpful to her.
It sounds like you've made the decision that's right for you.
-- Yes. I think I’ll call the defense attorney and tell her that what I say may not be what they think. I guess this was affecting me more than I thought. It feels a lot better to have that decision made.

This interaction took only a few minutes. My colleague was again energized and it got us back on track with the project. Most importantly, the level of trust between us increased exponentially because I treated him as a “whole” person.

How often do you see only the business “half” of the people you work with? What happens when you treat them as a “whole”?

Photo by: Shutterstock, AnastasiiaM

"Sometimes our talent is plain old everyday people skills that have been lost in our fast-paced society - listening, com...
07/23/2026

"Sometimes our talent is plain old everyday people skills that have been lost in our fast-paced society - listening, compassion, a sense of humor, and a positive outlook."
Lisa Nichols, author and CEO 'Moving the Masses'

"Results-driven" is one of the most praised traits in leadership. We all want people who deliver.But there’s a hidden da...
07/16/2026

"Results-driven" is one of the most praised traits in leadership. We all want people who deliver.
But there’s a hidden dark side.
When the pressure for results intensifies, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. We charge forward, latch onto the first obvious solution, and push hard — even as better options pass us by. The harder we drive, the harder it becomes to pause, zoom out, and see the entire ecosystem.
How you reach the result is just as important as reaching it.

Can you see the systems implications of your approach?
Are you willing to adapt your methods to achieve the outcome in the most effective, sustainable, and inclusive way?

A powerful parable from Michael Carroll’s 'The Mindful Leader' illustrates this beautifully:
In the village of Lu Chow, a thriving community lived off a busy river ferry. One day the ferry capsized, tossing passengers into the churning water. The alarm sounded. Everyone raced to the landing to help.....except the blacksmith, who ran in the opposite direction.
“Coward!” the townspeople shouted.
What they didn’t see was that the blacksmith had run downstream to a bend in the river. He wedged a long branch into the current so the struggling passengers could grab it as they floated by and pull themselves to safety.
By stepping back and understanding the full system — the river’s flow, the geography, the village layout — he achieved a far more effective solution.

True results-driven leadership isn’t just about speed or force. It’s about courage — the courage to pause, see the whole picture, and choose a smarter path.

What’s one situation where stepping back helped you find a better solution? Share in the comments.

If you waitfor perfect conditions,you'll never getanything done.So, what are you getting done?
07/09/2026

If you wait
for perfect conditions,
you'll never get
anything done.

So, what are you getting done?

Leadership Lessons I Learned as a U.S. Army Paratrooper 💪🪂At first glance, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane seem...
07/02/2026

Leadership Lessons I Learned as a U.S. Army Paratrooper 💪🪂
At first glance, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane seems completely unrelated to business leadership.
But the lessons I learned as a paratrooper at Fort Bragg have proven just as valuable in the boardroom as they were in the sky.
Here are the top 3:

1. Learn how to fall.
In the Airborne, it’s called a PLF — Parachute Landing Fall. We drilled it relentlessly. Balls of the feet, knees soft, roll through the side of your calf, hip, butt, and upper back. Protect your head and face.
One training jump, I was heading straight for a cargo truck. Impact was coming. But my training took over. I stayed loose, executed a perfect PLF off the side of the truck, and walked away shaken but whole.
In business (and life), failure is inevitable. “Fail fast” is cute, but knowing how to fall and get back up is what matters. The real question is: Do you have the resilience to evaluate, adjust, and keep moving?

2. Point your belly button where you want to go.
Our old T-10 parachutes weren’t very steerable. As a 5'2", 120 lb soldier, fighting the wind with those risers took everything I had. Then a smart instructor gave me the secret: Point your belly button where you want to go.
Full commitment. Core focus. Stop scattering your energy.
When business feels like you’re being blown in every direction, I remember this. Align your focus and your core, then commit. It works.

3. The first step is the hardest.
Standing in the door of a C-130, knees in the breeze… that moment of pure terror mixed with trust. Every single time.
But I never regretted taking that leap. The view was always worth it.
Same in leadership: having the hard conversation, admitting a mistake, speaking up when something isn’t right. The first step feels vulnerable and scary. But once you take it, it’s rarely as bad as you imagined.

Which of these resonates with you most right now?
Drop a comment — I’d love to hear your own “jump” stories.

Address

Alexandria, VA

Telephone

+17034179411

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