Leader Development

8-51. Leader development is a deliberate, continuous, sequential, and progressive process grounded in the
Army Values. It grows Soldiers and civilians into competent and confident leaders capable of directing
teams and organizations to execute decisive action. Leader development is achieved through the lifelong
synthesis of the knowledge, skills, and experiences gained through institutional training and education,
organizational training, operational experience, and self-development.

8-52. Leader development takes into consideration that military leaders are inherently Soldiers first and
must be technically and tactically proficient as well as adaptive to change. Army training and leader
development therefore centers on creating trained and ready units, led by competent and confident leaders.
The concept acknowledges an important interaction that trains Soldiers now and develops leaders for the
future.

8-53. The three core domains that shape the critical learning experiences throughout Soldiers’ and leaders’
careers are—

• Institutional training.
• Training, education, and job experience gained during operational assignments.
• Self-development.