Annual Global Leadership Summit starts today

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to reflect a more accurate portrayal of Tyler Perry's speaking role in the summit.

The annual Global Leadership Summit will kick off its two-day event today at La Croix Church in Cape Girardeau, which is among host sites in 300 cities broadcasting the event.

"We are the largest [host site] in Missouri," Susan Leming, connections and small groups director at La Croix Church, said in an email.

The summit is meant to help Christian leaders improve their leadership skills. It originates from the Willow Creek Community Church campus in South Barrington, Illinois.

Leming added she expects about 500 people to attend the summit in Cape Girardeau this year, with 50 volunteers participating.

The local broadcast of the leadership summit begins at 8:30 a.m. today with an opening session featuring guest speaker Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and also founder of the summit.

After a break, a second session will begin with speaker Carly Fiorina, whose speech is titled "Defining Leadership," followed by Jeffrey Immelt, who will address "Positioning Your Organization for the Future."

Fiorina was named Fortune's Most Powerful Woman in Business for six consecutive years and is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Immelt is the president of General Electric and served as chairman of President Barack Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

The third session will begin at 1 p.m. with presentations from Susan Cain, best-selling author of the book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," and Bryan Loritts, founder and lead pastor of Fellowship Memphis. Cain's discussion is "Quiet: Challenging the Extrovert Ideal," and Loritts will discuss "Instigating Change Through Personal Sacrifice."

Session four will begin at 3 p.m. and introduce Patrick Lencioni as the last speaker of the day. Lencioni is a best-selling business author and the founder and president of The Table Group, an organizational consulting firm. He will talk about "The Most Dangerous Mistakes Leaders Make."

On Friday, the summit will start with session five at 8:30 a.m. Guest speakers Joseph Grenny and Erica Ariel Fox will kick off the day's conferences until 10 a.m. Grenny, scheduled to discuss "Mastering the Art of Crucial Conversations," is the co-founder of a training organization called VitalSmarts and the author of four best-sellers. A lecturer at Harvard Law School, Fox will present a discussion called "Winning from Within."

Session six will include three presentations titled "Heart Session: A Grander Vision." Don Flow, chairman and CEO of Flow Cos. Inc., will open the proceedings, followed by Allen Catherine Kagina and Wilfredo De Jesús. Kagina is the commissioner general for Uganda General Revenue, and De Jesus is the senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church in Chicago.

After lunch, the seventh session will feature Ivan Satyavrata, senior pastor of Assembly of God Church in Kolkata, India, for a presentation called "The Power Paradox." He will be followed by actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who will partake in a question-and-answer session titled "When Leadership Meets Inspiration."

The closing session of the summit will start at 3 p.m. with speaker Louie Giglio, director of the Passion Movement and pastor at Passion City Church in Atlanta.

Some of the summit's sessions include pre-recorded interviews with a featured leader. Speakers are chosen from a variety of disciplines to provide attendees with a wide range of practical skills.

Those interested in attending the event still may register at willowcreek.com.