The Cadet Leader Development System

1. The Cadet Leader Development System • An organizing framework designed to coordinate and integrate cadet developmental activities across the entire West Point Experience. • It is designed to organize cadets’ experiences so that USMA achieves its institutional goals, accomplishes its assigned mission, and realizes its strategic vision. • Provides the structure, process, and content for cadets’ 47-month journey from “new cadet” to “commissioned leader of character.” Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

2. Why CLDS? • Few other institutions enjoy both the mandate, and the opportunity, to fundamentally change so much human potential in such a comprehensive way. • The West Point Experience is all about planned change, about systematically transforming people, about fundamentally shaping who they are, what they know, and what they can do. Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

3. Purpose of CLDS • Provides a common understanding of how we organize the West Point Experience • Aligns and synchronizes tactical execution of programs and activities within USMA’s strategic guidance. Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

4. United States Military Academy West Point, New York Military Program (Greenbook) Course Descriptions Office of the Commandant of Cadets Strategic Operational Tactical Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

5. CLDS and Officership The practice of being a commissioned Army leader, inspired by a unique professional identity that is shaped by what an officer must KNOW and DO, but most importantly, by what an officer must BE. This unique self-concept incorporates four inter-related roles:  Warfighter  Leader of Character  Servant of the Nation  Member of a Time-Honored Profession Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

6. The Officer as Warfighter The Functional Imperative: This characteristic of officership distinguishes Army officers from all other professionals. • Warrior Ethos • Tactical and Technical proficiency in the threat and application of violent force • Intellectual and Physical in nature • Characterized by a Winning Spirit Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

7. Servant of the Nation This characteristic of Officership: • Describes the fundamental nature of the relationship between the military profession and society, • Establishes the principle of military subordination to civilian control, • Establishes each officer as an agent of the nation - a servant, • Creates the moral foundation for the officer’s individual duty, and • Is formally embodied in the Commission itself Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

8. Member of a Profession This characteristic of Officership describes the nature of the Army officer corps as a corporate body • Unique competence or expertise (“Warfighters”) • Authority delegated by society (“Servants”) • Distinct culture • Ethically-based • “Leaders of Character” • A life-long calling, not a job Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

9. Leader of Character Leadership - the process of influencing others to accomplish a mission. Character - those moral qualities that constitute the nature of a leader and shape his or her decisions and actions. Leader of Character - seeks to discover the truth, decide what is right, and demonstrate the courage to act accordingly…always. Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

10. Principles of Officership • Duty – personal interests subordinate to requirements • Honor – includes the virtues of integrity and honesty • Loyalty – up and down chain of command • Competence – a career of continuous learning and study • Teamwork – primacy of the group’s mission over self • Subordination – to civilian authority; not politicized • Leadership – lead by example, always • Service to Country – Provide the Nation’s security Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

11. Developmental Domains • Intellectual • Critical, creative thinking for effective response • Physical • Success in combat depends on physical condition • Military • Officers are warfighters • Spiritual • Character is rooted in who we are as individuals • Ethical • Reconcile ethical norms of officership with personal values • Social • Determine appropriate behavior Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

12. Design Principles • Consistent with Army Culture • Goal-Oriented and Standards-Based • Sequential and Progressive • Integrated and Coordinated • Cadet Perception of Ownership of Experience • Different Paths, but Common Outcome • Common Core • Required Experiences (Baseline and Enrichment) • Appropriate Balance between Quantity and Quality Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

13. Five Keys to Development • Readiness • Cadets must be ready to learn from experiences • Developmental Experiences • Marked by novelty, difficulty, and conflict to set occasion for growth • Feedback & Support • Multiple formal and informal sources for cadets throughout entire 47 months • Reflection • Essential to development, but must be facilitated • Time • Cadets must assimilate discrete experiences into larger developmental process Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

14. What Develops? • Who cadets are • Facilitating process of how cadets make sense of what happens to them is the fundamental challenge of developing their self-concept as officers. • It is more important than knowledge and skills • More to our professional identity than knowledge and skills. • The BE in BE, KNOW, DO • How we help cadets develop a professional identity while simultaneously acquiring professional knowledge and skills. Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

15. The Challenge • How we respond to individual differences • From different starting points, through multiple paths, to the same outcome • How we help cadets take ownership of their development • Ultimately, it is up to cadets to make sense of USMA’s developmental experiences in a way that promotes their development as Army officers • How we help cadets develop from success and failure • We constantly look for opportunities to reinforce success • How cadets respond to failure is more important than the failure itself Celebrating 200 years of Excellence

16. For You to Think About… • What is your primary role developing cadets as commissioned officers for the Army? • What else can you do to help develop cadets as commissioned officers for the Army? Celebrating 200 years of Excellence