About Leading with Music

Brought to you by empoweringLEADERS; authored by Mark K. House.

While there are many blog sites on both Leadership and Music, our site aims to deepen the understanding of both – and do it in the length of a song.

  • Select a post (like the one above),
  • Hit play on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the music selection
  • Read a short article about Leadership 

In less than 5 minutes, get an artist to explore further with a bite-sized leadership point as you dive into your day. Buttons below take you to the previous or more recent post to keep reading. Join us on LinkedIn to leave a comment, and subscribe below for Daily or Weekly email updates. Share your own findings about #leadingWithMusic on LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Each week we select a Band of the week to emphasize a Leadership theme. Daily we emphasize one of the empower leadership competencies (to the left here). For example, Monday will always be about engage, and Sunday will always be about renew. All include real-world best practices learned from many years of global leadership and many mistakes that you can avoid.

You can Browse or Search for music or topics of interest to you. We are always looking for new Leadership Topics or Bands to cover and welcome your contributions to those lists.  Workshops using the power of music either virtually or in person are also available.

About the Author, Mark House

Mark has been immersed in music and singing since his youth, including singing in a Boys Choir at the 1968 Methodist Church Global meeting. He also watched as his Dad returned from meetings at IBM with his “songbook”, charged up by singing at offsite meetings regularly.  He helped lead music for his high school and college Youth Groups, and was part of a Bluegrass Gospel group as the bass player for over 15 years. As he noticed the absence of music and creativity in the workplace, he wrote “musical skits” in his corporate roles at IBM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and VeriSign.

As he transitioned from corporate roles, he co-led singing for every session of his coaching cohort at Georgetown University.  It was there he saw the power of music to get strangers and teammates to bond quickly.  Backed up by the science in Daniel Levitin’s great book This is Your Brain on Music, he began a 15-year focus on bringing music back into the workplace.

This led to offering multiple Music Makes Me workshops at Georgetown and other commercial and government organizations. He is now structuring offsite and meetings around music, and as an anthym certified consultant, can work with virtual teams around the globe. More details are here. He is recognized for his ability to find a song or build a playlist for just about any occasion and looks forward to your tune.

Our Most Recent Articles

The Edge and Bono sharing a microphone on stage, beside three classmates smiling at a 50th high school reunion.
Oct 09 2026

Love Is Blindness… wonder what the people closest to you will remember?

"My first girlfriend. For exactly a week... which luckily included my 14th birthday"One woman I had not seen since high school was my very first girlfriend. I had heard...
Adam Clayton playing a gold bass on stage, beside a youth soccer team in red holding trophies and a newspaper photo of the Herndon under-14 All-Stars after their win.
Oct 08 2026

Stay (Faraway, So Close!)… observe who could play the seat tonight?

"Go Play Striker"It was the end of the season All Star Soccer Tournament, probably U-15. As All Stars, it was a mix of players from across Herndon, including a 'new...
Charanjiv smiling in a suit and turban, beside Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, above the Freddie Mac logo.
Oct 07 2026

Mysterious Ways… partner with the one who runs the room?

"We can't do this without him. You can try, but you will fail... and I can't let you fail"A full-fledged crisis for the business led to the firing of the CEO, the COO,...
Two tour managers backstage with the Edge and Bono on the 2005 Vertigo tour, beside a calendar with a date circled in red and the NCI logo.
Oct 06 2026

City of Blinding Lights… manage the day after you leave?

"I am not going to be here on Day 61."The gig was supposed to be an architectural redesign for a University here in Virginia. Like a lot of IT teams, they had a...
Dik Evans playing a sunburst Fender guitar on stage in 2011, beside the class of 1976 gathered for its 50th reunion photo.
Oct 05 2026

Silencio… engage the people who will carry your Legacy?

"You were always so kind to me"I barely remembered this man, but clearly he knew me. As we kept talking I learned he was now a tech guy like me, and in high school, I...
Oct 04 2026

Club Zero… renew the torch someone held out to you?

renew the torch someone held out to you?"Sponsorship takes some risk."...I wrote that in 2019 about my father-in-law. He was a minister, and back in the early '60s he...
Oct 03 2026

Turn to You… execute the handoff before the seat is empty?

execute the handoff before the seat is empty?She brought other women with her....that is a story you don't see much in Women's Leadership. Now a very powerful senior...
Oct 02 2026

We Got the Beat… wonder how she hears the whole room?

wonder how she hears the whole room?"... there is no way I can possibly ever lead like that..."...probably 1994, at Fannie Mae. Julie was a senior vice president, and...
Oct 01 2026

Head over Heels… observe it from the back of the room?

observe it from the back of the room?"It looks that way looking backwards."... a young woman had just asked me how I had put together such a perfect career plan. I...
Sep 30 2026

Vacation… partner costs?

partner costs?"Why are you giving away all of your business to your partner?"Another great question from my "President", Beth... as I was just getting started. She had...