Our Future Leaders programme, co-delivered with Your Navigator, equips future leaders to find their way in a fast-changing world.
A 4-month, practice-based programme, delivered online with a 3-day residential strategy retreat in the United Kingdom, delegates learn to lead with confidence in complex and uncertain environments.
At a time of increasing global challenges, today’s leaders are expected to navigate climate change, sustainability targets, worldwide supply chain issues and rapidly shifting policy environments.
Our structured and supportive programme enables future leaders to build strategic capability, ethical awareness and resilience within the land-based industries, to thrive amid the ever-growing complexities and challenges present in our world.
Programme Leader Richard Cartlidge (centre) with past delegates
Who is the programme suitable for?
- Early-career professionals, including aspiring managers, keen to build their leadership skills
- Team leaders and managers, looking to step into strategic leadership roles
- Professionals eager to progress towards postgraduate or MBA-level study
The programme has been developed through a strategic collaboration between the Royal Agricultural University and Your Navigator and is tailored to those working within the land-based industries, including land, water, food and environment.
Delegates can be non-graduate, graduate or apprentice, working in the public, private, or third sector.
What you’ll achieve at the end of the programme
The clarity to undertake your personal leadership mission
In Module 1, you will:
- Explore your strengths
- Learn how to goal set and audit your strengths
- Understand your communication presence
- Gain unique academic insights from Professor David Main, Professor of Production Animal Health and Welfare, who will present on connecting leadership mission to ethical frameworks and policy contexts
The ability to make capacity
In Module 2, you will:
- Explore resilience, emotional intelligence and data literacy
- Apply diagnostics and EI psychometrics
- Gain unique professional service insights from Ryan Hanson, Director of Campus Experience, who will present on resilience and supportive environments
The thought to think differently
In Module 3, you will:
- Develop creative leadership skills to find innovative solutions to live challenges, using LEGO® Serious Play and the I.D.E.A. framework
- Gain unique academic insights from Professor Nicola Cannon, Professor of Agriculture, who will present on climate smart farming and innovation
The confidence to empower others
In Module 4, you will:
- Build collaborative, inclusive leadership skills to empower others
- Gain unique academic insights from Professor Kiran Tota-Maharaj, Professor of Water Resources Management and Infrastructure, who will present on leadership in interconnected contexts
Applied leadership practice
Over the course of a 3-day residential strategy retreat to Wales, you will gain applied leadership practice through:
- Experiential team building
- Group-to-team activities
- Outdoor challenges
- Strategic action planning
Further mentoring and 60-credit academic accreditation
Delegates, on completion, will have the option to receive follow-up mentoring for continued professional development, as well as pursue 60-credit academic accreditation for this course through the RAU.
How is the course delivered?
The programme is hybrid delivery.
The 4 modules are delivered online in a highly interactive format via Zoom, with a maximum of 8 delegates per cohort to ensure meaningful discussion and personalised support.
Between modules, delegates are encouraged to apply their learning in their professional context, with structured prompts and support available.
Delegates will come together in-person for a 3-day residential strategy retreat where they will gain applied leadership practice.
What is the course timeline?
Module 1 – Mission
13 – 15 April 2026, 9.00 am – 1.00 pm (online)
Module 2 – Make Capacity
6 – 8 May 2026, 9.00 am – 1.00 pm (online)
Module 3 – Think Differently
19 May 2026, 9.00 am – 5.00 pm (online)
Module 4 – Empowers Others
10 – 12 June 2026, 9.00 am – 1.00 pm (online)
3-Day Residential Strategy Retreat
29 June – 1 July 2026 (including travel to and from St Davids)
Programme Cost
£5,000 (including VAT) per delegate.
This includes residential strategy retreat transport and accommodation.
About the Programme Leader
Richard Cartlidge, Director of Your Navigator, is a leadership development specialist and former Royal Air Force Navigator who flew Chinook Helicopters and led operational missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. He also trained mission commanders for operational duty.
Richard knows what is required from leadership. He has transferred his considerable military experience and academic studies of leadership (including an MRes in Leadership Studies at Exeter University) and applied them to the corporate space where he headed leadership development programmes and initiatives for several years in a £1.1Bn organisation focused on operational delivery.
For over 20 years, Richard has worked with individuals, teams and organisations delivering leadership development solutions and equipping leaders to be resilient, confident and able to work through uncertainty.
Alongside, Richard’s delivery of the Programme, each online module integrates RAU academic and professional service insights from:
Professor David Main, Professor of Production Animal Health and Welfare
Ryan Hanson, Director of Campus Experience
Professor Nicola Cannon, Professor of Agriculture
Professor Kiran Tota-Maharaj, Professor of Water Resources Management and Infrastructure
Why choose the RAU?
We have been at the forefront of agricultural education and key contributor to the land-based sector for 180 years and are proud of our high-quality Continuing Professional Development courses.
The key benefits of our Future Leaders programme are:
Practical
Build your leadership skills with structured, applied training delivered by a highly experienced leadership development specialist.
Relevant
Benefit from sector-leading expertise from academics and professional service experts that can speak to ethical awareness, strategic capability and resilience across land, water, food and environmental systems.
Convenient
Participate in all the modules from your home or office, regardless of your location, ahead of a capstone 3-day residential strategy retreat.
Engaging
Share your ideas, learn from others and expand your network with like-minded professionals.
Personalised
A small cohort ensures you personalised feedback in a supportive environment.
Book your place
Book now on our Online Shop here.
If you have any queries or would like to learn more about the programme, please get in touch via our continuing professional development enquiry form or call +44 (0) 1285 652531.
Terms and conditions
Read our terms and conditions for short courses and CPD training here.
Please read these carefully before booking.