Patrick Sweeney

Colonel at Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point

Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University School of Business

Schools

Harvard Graduate School of Design
Wake Forest University School of Business
Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point

Expertise

Biography

Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point

Expertise

Leader and leadership development, trust, building and leading high performing teams, leading organizational change, leadership in dangerous contexts, and behavioral ethics

Experience

Dr. Patrick Sweeney is an experienced senior leader-practitioner and scholar whose research interests focus on character and identity development, trust, and building teams. He is a Professor of the Practice of Management and currently serves as the Director for the Center of Leadership and Character in the School of Business at Wake Forest University. Before joining Wake Forest University, he served over 29 years in the United States Army and retired as a Colonel. During his military career, his leadership assignments were both in the United States and abroad to include: Deputy and Acting Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, United States Military Academy, West Point; Director, Eisenhower Leader Development Graduate Education Program, a joint venture with Columbia University and West Point; Liaison Officer and Deep Fires and Effects Coordinator at V Corps for the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom I; Commander of a 450-person artillery unit and Chief of Staff of a 1600-person organization in the 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; and Executive Officer and Researcher for West Point’s Center for Leadership and Organization Research.

Dr. Sweeney combines his scholarly work and over 35 years of practical leadership experience to enhance the education development of leaders at all levels. He has provided education sessions to senior executive leaders from Fortune 500 companies, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy. He has extensive consulting experience in the areas of leader, leadership, and organization development.

Scholarly Work/Publications/Awards

Dr. Sweeney led a team of 62 prominent international scholars and practitioners to produce the book entitled, Leadership in Dangerous Situations: A Handbook for the Armed Forces, Emergency Services, and First Responders. He has also published 36 articles and chapters on leadership across an array of academic and military professional publications, including: American Psychologist,Applied Psychology: An International Review, Armed Forces Journal,Consulting Psychologist Journal, Journal of Applied Social Psychology,Journal of Positive Psychology, and Journal of Student Development. His current research projects include longitudinal studies exploring: trust and cohesion development in organizations, leader development throughout a career, and enhancing organization members’ resilience to adversities. Awards include: Bronze Star for meritorious service in combat, Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding service throughout a career, Ancient Order of Saint Barbara for outstanding contributions to the Field Artillery Community, and the Distinguished Member of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment for outstanding service and contributions, and the Ranger Tab. Pat has been recognized as a 2017 national thought leader in the areas of trust by Trust Across America.

Education

PhD, Social Psychology, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC
MA, Social Psychology, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC
MA, Military Art and Science, U.S. Army Command General Staff College
BS, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY

Organizations

Academy of Management
American Psychological Association
International Leadership Association
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Wake Forest University School of Business

Patrick Sweeney is a Professor of the Practice of Management and the Executive Director of Wake Forest School of Business’ Allegacy Center for Leadership and Character. He is an experienced senior leader-practitioner with over 39 years of experience leading high performing organizations and scholar whose research focuses on leader, leadership, and organizational development. Pat has published across an array of academic and military professional publications.

Pat served over 29 years in the United States Army and retired as a Colonel and a combat veteran. His leadership assignments in the United States and abroad included: Deputy and Acting Head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, the United States Military Academy at West Point, for five years; Director, Eisenhower Leader Development Graduate Education Program , a joint venture with Columbia University, for five years at West Point; Liaison Officer for the Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, Operation Iraqi Freedom I; Commander of a 450-person artillery unit and Chief of Staff of a 1600-person organization in the 101st Airborne Division.

Pat has experience creating and implementing programs at the institution level and is the primary architect of the Domain of the Human Spirit, the main character dimension for West Point’s Leader Development System; a foundational dimension in the U.S. Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program; and a main pillar in the Department of Defense’s Total Force Fitness Program. He has extensive consulting experience in the areas of leader, leadership, and organizational development for Fortune 500 companies to include: Deloitte, EMCOR, GE, HP, Kellogg’s, JP Morgan Chase, Mercedes Benz, P&G, Pratt and Whitney, Prudential, State Farm, Synchrony Financial, USAA, YPO, and 7-Eleven and the Departments of Defense and Energy.