Reflective Essay: West-Point Leadership Development System

One of the key factors in development is experience. Through exposure to differing situations and circumstances, one is able to assess his or her own decisions and draw conclusions as how they have developed. The west point leadership development system does well to give cadets a lot of exposure to new and challenging experiences from which they can grow. However, because of the factors that west point cannot control, each individual cadet’s experiences, while similar in many different ways, are unique to his or her circumstances. I have experienced many things at west point, but there is much I have not learned. Of the WPLDS outcomes, I believe to have developed the least in “Develop, Lead and Inspire”, and “Pursue excellence, and continue to grow.” My only means of measuring the “develop lead and inspire” category is my first semester and second semester plebes. Before I met my plebe, I did what every new team leader does. I bought him some items I believed would be useful, as well as boodle, and proceeded to teach him every useful thing I could think of, primarily things I had struggled with while I was a plebe. I was not certain about all of my duties as a team …show more content…
The “just enough” mentality dominates among the CORPS of cadets. As a whole, we tend to focus on doing just enough or average in many things. Graduation is the main goal for most cadets, so there is very little initiative to put in more effort than necessary. I find myself thinking in this manner often. While I consider myself to be competent in the three pillars, I do very little to achieve more than average. In academics, my top priority is passing; doing well comes second. Although I know what I lack in terms of physical ability, I do not put forth the effort to improve myself. This is reflected in my grades and APFT scores. Thus, I believe to have improved the least in the “[pursuit] of