Global Summit inspires and equips Norfolk leaders
Leaders from across Norfolk gathered at The Space in Norwich on Thursday November 6 for the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) 2025, a dynamic one-day event designed to inspire, equip, and empower individuals to lead with greater impact in their churches, workplaces, and communities.
GLS took place in Chicago in August but is recorded and then hosted as video cast events in 128 countries and translated into 60 languages, meaning that over 300,000 people will engage with the event worldwide.
Hosted locally by YMCA Norfolk and Proclaimers Church, GLS 2025 featured speakers from a wide range of backgrounds and careers.
Church Pastor and Summit Champion, Craig Groeschel, opened the event and demonstrated the power of consistent, intentional actions which drive progress. Sales & Leadership Expert, Stephanie Chung, outlined how the rules of work are changing and provided ways to lead people who are not like you, leveraging the God-given potential of every individual.
Juliet Funt, High Performance Expert, encouraged leaders to embrace a ‘reductive mindset’ by strategically cutting down the work to bring clarity and focus. Best-selling author Jon Acuff concluded the day with a hilarious presentation on how to become procrastination proof.
The event also included breakout discussions and opportunities to connect with other local leaders from churches, charities, education, and business.
John Lee, CEO of YMCA Norfolk, said: “Everyone wins when the leader gets better. There’s been content today for everyone, no matter what stage of the leadership journey you’re at. Whether you’re working in a church, within a charity or running your own business, the content has been so inspiring and practical. I've loved the breakout sessions where I can really unpack it with my team as well.”
Attendees also shared that “It's been amazing to be around such a great community of like-minded individuals who are just looking to further their leadership and some incredible content from world class speakers that you just don't get every day.” And “I really like the opportunity to gather in a room full of people, hearing from these world class communicators, and to think about how I can take my leadership forward, and also how I can do a better job of leading the people that I lead.”
Looking Ahead to GLS 2026
Following the success of this year’s event, plans are already underway for GLS 2026, set to return to Norwich on Thursday November 5. Early registration is now open, at a special discounted rate of £40 per person when booked before Thursday November 13.
If you’re wondering whether GLS is for you - Megan Saunders, Chaplain at YMCA Norfolk, put it clearly: “I would recommend it to anybody who's got any level of influence, which, to be honest, is all of us. I would encourage anyone interested in leadership - whether in ministry, business, education, or the community - to attend."
For updates and registration details, visit www.ymcanorfolk.org/gls for more details.