Peter D. Banko releases “The Necessary Goodbye: How Great Leaders Fire with Clarity, Confidence, and Compassion” with Forbes Books. ISBN-13: 979-8887508122
FORBES BOOKS
NEW YORK (May 12, 2026)—The Necessary Goodbye: How Great Leaders Fire with Clarity, Confidence, and Compassion by Peter D. Banko is now available on Amazon and at major booksellers. The book is published with Forbes Books, the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes.
In leadership, few responsibilities are more uncomfortable—or more consequential—than firing someone. Yet despite this importance, most leaders receive little or no training on how to handle the moment well. In The Necessary Goodbye, Baystate Health CEO Peter D. Banko offers candid, experience-driven guidance through one of the most avoided tasks in management.
Informed by two decades of CEO-level leadership across complex healthcare systems, Banko presents a clear and compassionate approach to facilitating employee departures with professionalism and respect. He argues that avoiding necessary personnel decisions can damage organizations, erode culture, and undermine team performance, whereas thoughtful, decisive leadership strengthens both individuals and institutions.
Rather than presenting termination as a purely procedural or legal exercise, The Necessary Goodbye reframes it as a leadership responsibility that must be handled with clarity, conviction, and humanity. Through real-world stories and reflections informed by psychology, philosophy, literature, and popular culture, Banko explores why leaders struggle with letting people go and how they can approach the process in a way that preserves human dignity and trust.
“I wrote this book because I am passionate about building teams,” Banko said. “I am relentless about finding and developing talent. If you’re a leader who struggles with getting the right people on the team, ensuring that team members are grown and nurtured, and exiting team members who don’t fit the culture, organization, or path forward, this book is for you, wherever you are in your leadership journey, and wherever you want to go with leading others.”
At its core, The Necessary Goodbye addresses a gap in leadership education. By confronting one of the hardest moments in management directly, Banko offers a way forward for leaders who want to build stronger teams, healthier cultures, and organizations capable of striving toward purpose.
This release is posted on behalf of Forbes Books (operated by Advantage Media Group under license).
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Forbes Books Media Contact: Julie McClellen, jmcclellen@theauthoritycompany.com