In this episode, I sit down with Martin Clausen, co-CEO of legal tech startup HyperContracts and former general counsel at Maersk and MHI Vestas, to explore one of the most uncomfortable moments in leadership: letting someone go.

Martin shares a candid story from early in his career when he had to dismiss a seasoned colleague who refused to accept his leadership. We dig into what he wished he had done differently, how empathy can delay hard decisions, and why the rest of the team's reaction almost always tells you something important.

But what I found most interesting was the coaching angle. We explore the tension between direct communication and asking questions, when each approach works best, and how to challenge someone clearly without shutting down reflection. Martin also shares how his style shifted after working across very different cultures at Maersk, Vestas, and alongside Japanese colleagues at Mitsubishi.

If you're a leader navigating a difficult employee situation or trying to figure out when to coach and when to act, this conversation offers some honest, hard-won perspective. I hope you find it as useful as I did.

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Learn more about coaching, mentoring, and human–AI collaboration in Michael Hoffman’s book: The Power of Coaching and Mentoring: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C28S43G5?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FJSXJ63FPQA26258WQJC

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