West Point, the United States Army’s Military Academy, is possibly the best leadership development institution in
the world. It has produced a remarkable list of leaders from US presidents and military heroes, to CEOs, and astronauts.
Who better to tell the leadership lessons learned there than Larry Donnithorne, a graduate and a thirteen-year faculty member at West Point, who was asked by the Academy’s superintendent to write a book about West Point’s process of leadership development? The result was The West Point Way of Leadership.
This article captures the essence of that book, of which the Harvard Business Review concluded, “The West Point model of leadership is a fascinating and insightful one, one that Donnithorne presents modestly, carefully, and convincingly….The philosophy that underlies is based on moral principle, timeless values, and the leader’s selfless commitment to others.”



