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I agree in some ways. Kaladin really does follow the heroes journey quite well in this book: going from depressed and suicidal to a real leader of men with supernatural powers. However, it's not like this plot line hasn't been done a million times before, a lot of ways in a much more satisfying way because the characters involved are real people instead of cut outs. Kaladin doesn't really have to change his worldview at all throughout the book: he's still completely obsessed with saving people, he's just gained the powers to actually do so effectively. Contrast this to something like Joe Abercrombie's A Shattered Sea YA series where the main characters are also a bunch of pathetic slaves, but actually have to change their outlook on the world and really sacrifice to grow in strength (whereas Kaladin just gets a bunch of Deus Ex machina powers). Any shonen anime (Attack on Titan, etc.) has the same arc. For a non-fantasy example, consider the movie Cool Runnings about the development of a Jamaican bobsledding team. I'm not particularly convinced that Kaladin's story is anything special compared to the wider world of literature.
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