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… and the renewal of Virtue…

An interesting thing to observe through this...

executing Virtue…

“It is 10 to the hour, and based on our agreement, this meeting is over.  Thank you for coming, we will schedule a follow-up soon.  And now you may all go to your next engagement”.  Stunned is probably the best description of the people in the room, including me…

Virtue wonders….

To this day, I am known for connecting people and seeking out relationships to work through challenges and opportunities. I stalked a person for a year, who is now a good friend, and more importantly, a master Organist… and knew some Bach works that I should feature this week… 

How are Virtues observed?

As I leaped out of IBM just before they laid off 40,000 people, I was fortunate to land a job at Fannie Mae. Their Vice-Chairman saw a Business Week article (remember that magazine…) about Software Reuse, and directed the CIO to pursue it.  It makes sense – write software well once, and Reuse it over and over,

Virtue partners…

… some leaders who are stunning in their clarity and focus on what matters most – living out their values authentically for their team and themselves.  I was honored to partner with one at VeriSign who went through many busy seasons with me, including learning to leverage RAPID for our team’s best…

Do you manage with Virtue?

Interviewing for my last “real” corporate gig, my peer was venting about his team – and how they were not “leading” like he wanted them to.  I wasn’t a coach – officially yet – but asked what seemed obvious … “Well, have you told them what you expected?”

What Virtue engages?

It will not surprise you that I was a big fan of the early Woody Allen.  His wry ability to engage the world around him by turning everything on its head has guided my life…

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 bothand 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

Mar 23 2025

… and the renewal of Virtue…

An interesting thing to observe through this season has been the increasing focus on Justice - that there are things that are Right and Wrong.  That actually can be a...
Mar 22 2025

executing Virtue…

“It is 10 to the hour, and based on our agreement, this meeting is over.  Thank you for coming, we will schedule a follow-up soon.  And now you may all go to your...
Mar 21 2025

Virtue wonders….

To this day, I am known for connecting people and seeking out relationships to work through challenges and opportunities. I stalked a person for a year, who is now a...
Mar 20 2025

How are Virtues observed?

As I leaped out of IBM just before they laid off 40,000 people, I was fortunate to land a job at Fannie Mae. Their Vice-Chairman saw a Business Week article (remember...
Mar 19 2025

Virtue partners…

… some leaders who are stunning in their clarity and focus on what matters most – living out their values authentically for their team and themselves.  I...
Mar 18 2025

Do you manage with Virtue?

Interviewing for my last “real” corporate gig, my peer was venting about his team – and how they were not “leading” like he wanted them...
Mar 17 2025

What Virtue engages?

It will not surprise you that I was a big fan of the early Woody Allen.  His wry ability to engage the world around him by turning everything on its head has guided my...
Mar 10 2025

Can we engage The Middle?

Later this week will be the Spring Equinox – the day that we officially move from Winter to Spring (at least in Astronomy). The sun will be right over the equator...
Mar 09 2025

The renewal of Surfing…

Where I was raised in Texas, we didn’t do a lot Surfing…. but we did do a lot of water skiing. As I was graduating from High School, my parents bought a...
Mar 08 2025

How do you execute Surfing?

As I started this series on Surf music, today’s song is probably what came to mind first.  The song—this version as well as cover versions—has been featured in...