The Call of Commitment: Implications for the Direction and Intensity of Our Leader Behaviors and Actions

Abstract

The word “commitment” is ubiquitous and interpreted in a multitude of ways. This essay surveys definitions of commitment used in various disciplines, and examines different types of commitments, ranging from those involving personal objectives, to values and principles, to ultimate concerns. Commitment shapes human lives in a variety of powerful ways. Commitments are structured in ways that generally include a belief, care, declaration, practice, readiness for challenges, persistence, and identity. It is possible to develop and hone commitments through expression, reflection, self-scrutiny, conditional scripts, understanding of ritual and images, practice and partnership, and intentionality, et al. Commitments often spring from a calling that can be discerned.