Master Sgt. Stan Grandt will retire in 2026, but before he does, he has some advice for the U.S. military’s next generation of leaders.
“You have to be very selfless when leading others,” Grandt told Reserve + National Guard Magazine. “They’re going to take a lot of your time. There’s going to be a lot of frustration, but there’s also going to be a lot of great moments.”
With that key advice in mind, Grandt shared seven supporting leadership tips that originally appeared on the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s Instagram account March 3. He accumulated the tips during his roughly 26 total years in uniform, nearly 20 of them in active-duty service with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, two tours to Iraq, and more than a decade in recruiting.
“In late 2011, I came into the Wisconsin Recruiting and Retention Battalion, and that’s where I’ve been since,” Grandt said. “And that’s where I will retire from.”
Grandt is the section chief of Detachment 2, Alpha Company, at the Wisconsin RRB, stationed in between Eau Claire and Onalaska, Wisconsin. In Grant’s own words, here are his seven tips for new leaders:
Make sure you can lead yourself
“That’s the foundation of being able to lead others. I’ve got to be able to do everything I’m asking all my soldiers to do.”
Drop your ego
“Having an ego, ultimately, you’re going to have barriers up, and you can’t have barriers up when you’re leading.”
Grandt added later, “And honestly, when you have a big ego, it keeps you up at night because you’re worried about your performance all the time, because you’re worried about what others are thinking.”
Ask questions
“Ask the experienced folks around you. If I had 15 years left [in the military], and I was wondering about this, this, and that, I would rather ask questions about it and prepare myself mentally for the things that are going to come from people who have been in those positions than run across it years down the road.”
Know that you will fail at times
“Fail young, fail early because it’s a lot harder to fail when you’re in a senior NCO position or you’re in a leadership position. But also, don’t be afraid of failing if you’re attempting to make yourself better.”
Read leadership books
“Don’t think just because you are doing really well in your current rank that things won’t change once you get to the next rank. You always have to be willing to learn, and I think the best way to learn is from other leaders’ experiences.”
Have a mentor
“A good mentor is going to push you, and they’re going to help you rethink things.”
Make sure you have personally done everything you ask your subordinates to do and you can train, coach, and mentor them in those tasks
With that, Grandt’s advice comes full circle, back to tip No. 1: “Lead by example,” he said.
