"The Power of Connection: Through Music - in life, family and work. Maybe in the KM Community?"
The Power of Connection: Through Music, in life, family and work.
Maybe in the KM Community?
August 2026
For a few months now, my family has held Zoom Music Night, a new tradition where three generations come together with little more than guitars, voices, and a shared love of songs. My 70-year-old brother-in-law plays the music of his youth, especially songs from the 1950s and 1960s. My husband and I bring in our Gen X and baby boomer favorites. My nephew, who is in his twenties, has surprised us with his interest in learning songs from the 1970s. He has played music from my youth, including “Vincent (Starry Starry Night)” by Don McLean and “Blackbird” by Paul McCartney. I was moved to tears seeing this young man who wasn’t even born when I was newly married, play his own renditions of these timeless classics. He also introduces us to contemporary artists, pushing us to learn new pieces my generation would never have considered otherwise.
On these nights, we take turns playing one song at a time, listening, reminiscing, playing along, and learning from each other. Age seems to dissolve. It does not matter who is 70 and who is 25. What matters is our shared attention, our willingness to listen, and our respect for each other’s song choices. The songs become tiny windows into who we are, particularly what comforts us, what strengthens us, and what we find beautiful or meaningful. Even other family members who do not play a musical instrument sometimes dial in just to listen, their toddlers splashing in the background. They may not say much, but their presence is still a form of connection.
In these simple hours, when we share music that gives us joy across time zones, something becomes very clear. And it’s that music keeps us connected, especially now that every member of my family is an adult. WhatsApp messages and family reunions still matter, though reunions have become less frequent because of competing schedules. Also text messages in family threads don’t always show the complete picture of a person. And when siblings are together, we can sometimes even slide back into old childhood roles that no longer reflect the adults we have become. In regular spaces like Zoom Music Night, we see, hear, and experience each other differently. I get to know my family better and glimpse what matters to them today.
Connecting at work
That same instinct to create spaces for people to meet beyond their usual roles also shaped how I showed up at work.
When I was still in my former organization, I instinctively gravitated toward orchestrating events where people would come together to share common challenges, interests, contacts and hopefully solutions. I didn’t realize it then. But that was a skill I discovered I had. It was natural for me to bring people together. Perhaps that came from my mother who always hosted her siblings and their families to come play mahjong at our house or just spend Sunday lunch during the weekends when we were growing up. I also had a cousin who worked as a DJ. He knew all of our relatives‘ birthdays and announced it on the radio when he was on. Later, when he no longer had that job, my aunt took over that practice and announced all the birthday celebrants every month including the kids of the younger generation. And in those announcements, she would also remind us who was born of, related to or married to whom.
In my former job, I also wasn’t just interested in tasks and projects. I was more focused in the spaces between people. I often tried to organize coffees in our unit with the hope that we would see each other not just as colleagues but also as people with families, interests, and rich backgrounds. In the earlier years of my career, that instinct was not always easy to explain, especially when I was still junior and the workplace culture was more focused on getting the work done. As I went up the ranks, this thankfully changed. As I became more senior, I had more influence to introduce section lunches and coffees to celebrate colleagues’ birthdays and milestone events. It was somehow always important for me to show, especially to younger colleagues, that we were not just worker bees hired to do a job, but human beings who were more than the work.
Connection through the Employee Networks
This was most likely the reason why I was motivated to create the WTO Employee Networks. It was meant to be a network of, by and for the staff members of the organization. And now that I think about it, the first group that got created from the Networks was a Music Group. Through work relationships we were able to find out who in the organization were singers, performers, theater actors, piano virtuosos and music enthusiasts. From there, volunteer leaders were able to form a Choir that held weekly voice lessons with a real vocal coach, and create a band of volunteer musician colleagues who played during Staff Barbecues or organizational events. From the organization, we were also thankfully allowed to use the organization’s grand piano as well as convert an unused office space into a musical studio. That studio became a place where our amateur musicians stored their drums, amplifiers, microphones and other musical equipment so they could rehearse between and after office hours.
Looking back and thinking of my former job, I realize that I don’t actually miss the work. But I do miss the people, ie. the conversations in the corridor, the camaraderie that emerged when we met at the Atrium, the coffeeshop, workplace gatherings or from the laughter during Staff Barbecues, workplace concerts or volunteer Soup Kitchens.
And now that I’ve formally retired from my 9-5 full-time job, that longing to stay connected hasn’t disappeared. If anything, it has become even more important. Because as I no longer have the daily structure of an office, it would have been easy for my world to become small, with just my own thoughts and my own routine. Being connected with the outside world allows me to keep my mind, heart, and worldview open, especially in this new stage of life.
What have I learned about Connection
Through all of this though, I’ve learned a few things about the Power of Connection:
First, connection does not happen on its own. It has to be designed intentionally and purposefully. In particular, shared history alone is not enough, whether people are related, once worked together, or belonged to the same profession. For instance, in my family example, I had to initiate Zoom Music Night. I had to propose the structure and gently nudge family members skeptical about meeting monthly. Without that conscious design, my family would still be communicating on a needs basis with WhatsApp.
Second, connection helps expands my world. When I truly listen to others, e.g. my relatives, peers, mentors and mentees, I’m constantly reminded that my viewpoint is just one of many. This is a humbling experience and makes one less quick to judge and less certain that my way is “the right way.” It cultivates having a more diverse and compassionate understanding of the world.
Third, science actually supports the idea that Connection is a significant contributor towards well-being and longevity. One is much more alive and grounded when in meaningful relationships, i.e. with family, friends, relatives, work communities. I guess it’s true that humans aren’t simply meant to live alone. We might survive that way. But we won’t thrive or flourish.
And finally, connection is often the first step in knowing something or someone. Knowledge does not live in emails, text messages, documents, or databases. It also lives in stories, gestures, memories, rituals, and, yes, in music, when shared and acted upon. As the film, “A Plastic Ocean (2016)” puts it,
“From KNOWING comes CARING, and from CARING comes CHANGE”
Even indigenous cultures, if I am not mistaken, understood this long before we did. Their songs, sounds and rhythms carry history, wisdom, identity, and guidance which have been passed on by generations.
And can Music and KM also be a possible connection?
Hmm, now that’s a challenge I am currently exploring. I’m thinking music can also be a legitimate way of sharing and activating knowledge within KM Communities. And why not? Nobody ever dreamed of hearing music in the halls of the building of my former organization. And yet years later, because of the audacity and imagination of a small group of people, we were able to host guest Choirs from Universities to serenade us during lunch time or listen to volunteer colleague musicians share their musical talent during Staff Barbecues. I have always believed in the saying, “if you can imagine it, it will happen.” So I’ll be working on it and will keep you posted.