099: The ‘Success Sequence’ of Leadership, with Larry Freedman

In this episode, I sit down with Larry Freedman, an accomplished leader with over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including nearly three decades in sales leadership. Larry shares the guiding principles behind his highly effective “success sequence”—a stepwise approach he developed for leading teams—and describes how building authentic, trusting relationships serves as the foundation for long-term results.

Through engaging stories and practical examples, Larry illustrates the importance of making personal connections with team members, including traveling to meet them face-to-face and intentionally getting to know them beyond their professional roles. He underscores the deliberate and organic process of relationship building, noting its critical role in shaping a positive team culture and enhancing performance. Larry also discusses the power of investing in team capabilities before focusing on driving results, stressing that sustainable success is rooted in trust, meaningful feedback, and discretionary effort.

Key takeaways:

• Building genuine, trust-based relationships is the crucial first step for new and established leaders alike.
• Intentionally investing time—such as visiting team members in person—sends a strong, positive message and lays the groundwork for effective leadership.
• Culture is shaped by how people feel about their work; leaders have significant power to influence and create a supportive environment regardless of broader organizational challenges.
• Enhancing capabilities and providing candid feedback is most impactful when rooted in strong relationships and trust.
• Focusing solely on results without investing in people and culture often leads to high turnover and unsustainable performance.
• Leaders should strive to “lead two levels down,” creating connections that reach deep into teams and leave a lasting legacy.
• Leaders rent—and don’t own—the title; it’s the positive impact and relationships you leave behind that truly matter.

Reach out to Larry to gain actionable strategies for building winning teams and creating lasting impact—one relationship at a time.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/inspire-impact

Email: Larry@inspire-impact.net

Leadership Jam Sessions' Executive Producer, James Christie

When James is not busy leading commercial teams in the biopharmaceutical industry, you can find him behind the scenes orchestrating all that happens for his brainchild - The Leadership Jam Session Podcast. As our Executive Producer, James' background of more than 20 years in Marketing, Sales, and Training, combined with a passion for business and leadership education, have all inspired the very direction we take with delivering our content. James holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.