How to Succeed in Your First Year as a Leader – Without Burning Out

About this Masterclass

Your first year as a leader can be a make-or-break experience. The shift from individual contributor to people leader comes with new expectations, unclear boundaries, and often little guidance.

In this session, we’ll break down the key transitions, mindset shifts, and mistakes to avoid in your first year of leadership. You’ll walk away with a practical roadmap to lead with confidence (without losing yourself in the process).

This is for you if...

• You’ve recently stepped into a people leadership role (or are about to)
• You feel like you’re building the plane while flying it
• You’re trying to earn influence without burning out
• You’re responsible for growing others, while still growing yourself

What You Will Learn

✅ The 3 most important mindset shifts in your first year
✅ How to set boundaries, expectations, and avoid “firefighter mode”
✅ What senior leaders expect from you (but often don’t say)
✅ How to transition from peer to leader without losing trust

About Benjamin Wirtz

Benjamin Wirtz is the Managing Director of Scalable Leaders. With 15 years of experience in tech, he’s worked with world-class companies like Culture Amp, Google, and Atlassian, as well as early-stage startups and fast-growing scaleups.

His journey spans from being an engineer and product manager to CPO/CTO as well as CEO (though interestingly enough not in that order). He brings a rare mix of technical depth, business acumen, and people leadership – with experience of of coaching over 100 leaders across various tech functions.