Oye Como Va… partner with someone who shares your rhythm?

"Mike? Welcome! Where is your luggage?" "This is...

Evil Ways… manage the state you bring into the room?

Driving 80 mph through the snow storm that...

Soul Sacrifice… engage a wish, or a rope?

A car pulled up with the window down: "Mark?"...

Song for America… renew on the long drive with the quiet one?

"We are not even halfway there..."I have driven...

Magnum Opus… execute on the work you would do for free?

"... the scoring always happens in the First 2...

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

Oct 22 2026

Black Magic Woman… observe where the land mines are before you walk in?

"That is what I need you to do..." he said as we both left the bathroom...Now surfing across the top of IBM, I had access to VP's and Senior Vice President's who...
Oct 21 2026

Oye Como Va… partner with someone who shares your rhythm?

"Mike? Welcome! Where is your luggage?" "This is it. Let's Go!"...a week in a thin briefcase...While we had lost the funding for the full solution, building a card for...
Oct 20 2026

Evil Ways… manage the state you bring into the room?

Driving 80 mph through the snow storm that closed the airport, my friend said... "What? It's just Winter!"It was always dicey traveling out of the Ithaca area in the...
Oct 19 2026

Soul Sacrifice… engage a wish, or a rope?

A car pulled up with the window down: "Mark?" "Karen!" ... and we were off!This was pre-everything... no pagers, no cell phones, barely any internet. And yet, our...
Selfie on a long drive: a man in sunglasses in the passenger seat, a bulldog asleep between the seats and a younger man driving, with an inset black-and-white photo of Robby Steinhardt of Kansas playing violin
Oct 18 2026

Song for America… renew on the long drive with the quiet one?

"We are not even halfway there..."I have driven through much of Kansas, highlighted by a Turnpike that had a sign "Next Exit 90 miles". As the wheat literally was...
Collage: a cartoon portrait of a bald bearded man with glasses pushed up on his head, the sheet music for Miracles Out of Nowhere, and Dave Hope of Kansas holding a bass in a Slippery Rock T-shirt
Oct 17 2026

Magnum Opus… execute on the work you would do for free?

"... the scoring always happens in the First 2 or the Last 2 ..."... do you know the scene in Forrest Gump where he just stopped running... and didn't really offer an...
A long-haired Kansas singer with eyes closed singing into a microphone on stage, beside a blank Stanford University letterhead
Oct 16 2026

Miracles Out of Nowhere… wonder what your early failures were for?

"He will make a great Master's student"While starting my career, my family, I was also continuing my education. I had always dreamed of having a PhD, and during that...
Collage: a Kansas vocalist singing into a microphone today, the eye-bee-M rebus poster, and a young Steve Walsh singing shirtless on an outdoor stage in the 1970s
Oct 15 2026

The Wall… observe the signs before someone else does?

"You can quit ... but I am not going to pay you to leave."They were offering packages to leave for certain job titles, and as fate would have it, I had ended up being...
Rich Williams of Kansas playing guitar, a cream 1960s Mercedes sedan, and a black-and-white 1970s Kansas band photo with the KZEW 98 FM Zoo Freak logo
Oct 14 2026

Carry On Wayward Son… partner with the voice you still hear?

"Keep your pants zipped, and everything will turn out fine."As I crested the hill west of Tyler as a 17-year-old freshman, happiness was palpable and real. My favorite...
Kerry Livgren of Kansas playing guitar on stage under blue and red lights, beside a photo of a smiling young girl in glasses
Oct 13 2026

Dust in the Wind… manage the minutes you keep promising?

"Dad is a few 2 or 3?"... 1985, we were in Friendswood in our first house. There is a story of my daughter at 3 asking repeatedly to help her do something ... and me...