Training & Leadership
Scenario-based training and leadership development for those delivering, supervising or supporting adventurous programmes.
Practical Skills. Clear Thinking. Calm Under Pressure.
Good policy is only useful if the people delivering it understand when and how to act. In adventurous environments, there’s rarely time to flick through a handbook, which is why preparation, confidence and decision-making under pressure are so critical.
Crux Outdoors designs and delivers training that builds field-readiness and leadership capability. We work with expedition providers, charities, outdoor education centres and film crews to ensure that the people on the ground are equipped to manage risk, support others, and lead effectively, even when conditions change.
Our training is practical, immersive and scenario-led. We don’t teach theory for its own sake, we run sessions that reflect the environments and responsibilities your team will actually face. That might include incident response drills, safeguarding judgement calls, navigation errors, equipment failure, group management problems, or ethical dilemmas in community settings.
We also provide targeted training for in-house teams and operations staff, helping organisations build a shared understanding of what good leadership looks like, and how to recognise when things are going wrong.
How We Support You
Leadership development for expedition staff, operations teams and facilitators
Scenario-based risk management training and dynamic decision-making
Crisis simulation days (indoors or in the field)
Role-specific training for medics, support staff, or young leaders
Ethical leadership workshops for teams working in sensitive cultural contexts
Bespoke pre-departure or in-country briefings and refreshers
Coaching for new leaders stepping into field roles for the first time
Case Studies
In Your Element – Crisis Simulation and Staff Upskilling, Scottish Highlands
The challenge
In Your Element, a leading outdoor activity provider operating across the Highlands, wanted to upskill its seasonal staff ahead of a busy summer season. While their team was technically competent, most had limited experience managing incidents or making decisions under pressure, particularly in remote settings or when plans changed unexpectedly. The company wanted to embed a stronger culture of leadership, initiative and clear communication across teams operating at different sites.
Our solution
Crux Outdoors designed and delivered a two-day immersive training programme for their core activity staff, held in the Cairngorms. The course combined theory with a series of live, evolving scenario simulations, including a lost participant search, a vehicle breakdown affecting group pick-up, a first aid incident with conflicting priorities, and a safeguarding concern emerging mid-session. Each scenario was followed by structured debriefs focusing on leadership behaviour, communication under stress, and alignment with company protocols.
The training raised the baseline of leadership confidence across the seasonal team, and gave senior staff a clear view of individual capability. Feedback from participants highlighted that the simulation format felt real, challenging, and directly relevant to their work. Several elements of the session were later built into In Your Element’s onboarding process, and the revised staff handbook is now issued across all sites.
British Exploring Society – Simulated Incident Weekend for Wilderness Leaders
The challenge
British Exploring Society wanted a more rigorous and realistic training format to prepare leaders for extended wilderness expeditions in the Amazon and Arctic. They needed a training approach that moved beyond discussion and tested real-time reactions, communication and judgement.
Our solution
Crux Outdoors designed and delivered a full-day simulated incident training event in the Scottish Highlands. Leaders were placed into unfolding scenarios involving injury, environmental threat, internal group conflict and satellite communication failures. The emphasis was on leadership under stress, working within the limits of a policy, and making judgement calls with incomplete information.
The simulation weekend became a core part of their leader development pathway. It gave senior staff a clear benchmark of readiness and highlighted where further support or mentoring was needed before deployment.
Our Services
Field Safety Audits & Consultancy
Recce & Site Assessments
Policy, Protocols & Compliance
Support for Film, TV & Media Productions
Destination Risk Briefings & Intelligence
Training & Leadership
Get in Touch
If you want to sharpen your team’s leadership, build confidence in decision-making, or ensure your staff are genuinely prepared for the unexpected — we can help.
We design and deliver training that works in the field, not just in the classroom.
