About the West Point Leadership Center About the West Point Leadership Center Breadcrumb research centers and institutes west point leadership center more about the center The West Point Leadership Center operates within the Department of Behavioral Science and Leadership and aims to advance and nurture responsible leadership development within West Point, the Army, government entities, educational institutions, and corporations. The West Point Leadership Center (WPLC) exists to help the United States Military Academy produce leaders of character for the nation and remain the world’s preeminent leader development institution. We do this by providing challenging experiences that stretch leaders, instilling new knowledge that expands leaders’ understanding of the world and human and organizational behavior, and facilitating substantial coaching, mentoring, and reflection. This approach provides optimal leader growth, inspiration, and promotes cadets to take ownership of their own development.The Leadership Center concentrates on three areas or lines of effort: Character and Leadership Development, Diversity and Inclusive Leadership, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Character and leadership development is at the core of West Point and Army missions. The West Point Leadership Center enables cadets to engage in these areas at a deeper level and learn from leaders and organizations outside of their typical experiences. Diversity and inclusive leadership is focused on developing and promoting West Point’s diverse cadet talent, with emphasis on developing and empowering minority and female leaders and building diverse and inclusive teams. Innovation and entrepreneurship represent a growing need and a potential competitive advantage for our Army and nation. We are committed to developing leaders that have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be entrepreneurial and innovative in their thinking and decision making and their leadership of innovative and entrepreneurial teams and cultures. Lines of Effort These lines of effort are executed through 10 individual programs and led by the Army’s most talented and successful individuals. These leaders possess experience leading and commanding organizations in the most challenging situations, hold graduate degrees in management, leadership, and the social and behavioral sciences, are expert teachers and researchers, and world class leader developers. Enabled by financial resources and access to developmental experiences, these program leaders provide inspiration, purpose, motivation, and direction to their programs and optimal development to the cadets. The Leadership Center and the ten programs operate as “margin of excellence” activities, funded and supported primarily by donations of time, talent, and financial resources. West Point Leader Development System The Leadership Center also directly supports the West Point Leader Development System that integrates the character, academic, military/leadership, and physical pillars across and the 47-month experience. We do this by identifying and addressing the needs and interests of cadets, targeting gaps and opportunities in the broader leader development system, and helping to integrate these activities across the Academy. We also participate actively in creating new knowledge about leadership and character development, leadership science, and best leadership practices through our research and scholarship. Our Programs Our programs range from world class conferences (McDonald’s Conference for Leaders and Character and the West Point Negotiation Workshops), promoting minority and female leadership (Elevation and Corbin Forum), to education and scholarship (innovation courses and curriculum and Excel Scholars). Ultimately, the WPLC has something to inspire and develop all of our cadets to be better leaders of character and provide our soldiers and nation the leadership they deserve. Follow us Contact Us For more information, please contact us at: bslwplc@westpoint.edu.