The Cadet Leader Development System

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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.

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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.

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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 USMAs strategic
  guidance.

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Strategic
Operational
Tactical
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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

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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

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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 officers
  individual duty, and
• Is formally embodied in the Commission itself

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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

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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 accordinglyalways.

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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 groups mission over
  self
• Subordination to civilian authority not
  politicized
• Leadership lead by example, always
• Service to Country Provide the Nations security

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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
  USMAs 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

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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?