We offer two formats:

• Cohort Courses run once per year for each specialty area (Culture, Leadership, Change, or Stakeholder). These include a five-week guided learning structure with scheduled Course Conversation Calls. To join the next cohort, check the specific course page for dates and waitlist information.

• Start Anytime Courses are self-paced and available to begin immediately after enrolment. You can work through the material at your own pace within your 90-day access window.

Both formats are fully self-paced with differences in support and connection throughout the course

A Cohort Course follows a five-week guided structure with weekly live Course Conversation Calls and a group of peers. It provides a supportive, time-bound learning experience.

A Start Anytime Course is fully self-paced, allowing you to begin anytime and work through the content in your own rhythm without live sessions.

Cohort Course:

• Guided over five weeks with a group of fellow learners

• Includes five live Course Conversation Calls (recorded if you miss them)

• Designed to give you structure, accountability, and community support as you learn

• Specific start and end dates (e.g. March 20–April 27)

• Access to mentors, shared reflections, and a sense of shared journey

Start Anytime Course:

• Fully self-paced — you can begin the moment you enrol

• No live sessions or cohort structure

• Ideal if you want flexibility or need to fit learning around a busy schedule

• Still includes access to the online course platform and downloadable tools

• You have 90 days to complete it at your own pace

Both versions include everything you need to earn your ECD Certified Practitioner badge — the main difference is whether you want to learn alongside others, or go at your own rhythm.

You’ll have access to the course platform, community and all materials for 90 days from the date of enrolment.

Yes. If you enrol in a Cohort Course, all live Course Conversation Calls are recorded and uploaded to your course portal so you can watch them at your convenience.

The live course calls are usually held at 9:00 AM NZT. This works well for New Zealand, Australia, Asia, and North America. If that time doesn’t work for you, you can watch the recordings.

You’ll have access to the course platform, community, and all materials for 90 days from the date of enrolment. If you don’t complete the course within those 90 days, you can continue your learning journey by signing up as a paid member to retain access and finish in your own time.

Nope. These courses are for anyone who wants to bring more emotion into their work — from beginners to experienced change makers. For facilitators, leaders, coaches, consultants and change-makers. No prior experience with The Emotional Culture Deck is required. No matter your facilitation, coaching or leadership experience, we promise you will find what you discover and learn on this course valuable - and if you don't, we'll give your money back!

Yes. Once you complete all required lessons and submit your final reflections, you'll receive an ECD Certified Practitioner Badge for that course specialty.

You can keep using the tools in your own practice. If you'd like to go further, you can continue along our ECD Certified Pathway to unlock status badges and rewards—or fast-track to Certified Consultant level. Becoming a Consultant means you're endorsed by riders&elephants and authorised to deliver our ECD Specialist Courses and certify new ECD Practitioners. To take this next step, you can join our ECD Consultant Development Programme to deepen your learning and become certified to train others.

Yes. Each course is one of our four ECD Specialist Courses. Completing one makes you an ECD Certified Practitioner and starts your pathway toward becoming an ECD Certified Consultant. Click here to read about our ECD Certified Pathway >

For cohort-based courses, we recommend setting aside 60–90 minutes per week across five weeks to complete the weekly lessons and attend (or review) the live calls.

For Start Anytime self-paced courses, you have full flexibility. Some people complete it in a few days, others spread it out over the full 90-day access period. It’s entirely up to your schedule and pace.

We also offer two learning paths inside each course:

• Fast Track: The minimum time commitment to complete the core video lessons and required activities to receive your Practitioner badge (approximately 4–5 hours total).

• Deep Dive: A more immersive path that includes additional learning resources, reflection challenges, bonus lessons and facilitation prompts to embed the learning more deeply (approximately 8–10+ hours total). Deep Dive generally takes about twice the time of the Fast Track path.

The digital-only course option gives you access to all course materials and downloads as PDFs, which you can print and use at your own pace.

When you choose to add on physical toolkits, you receive professionally printed resources—such as card decks, handbooks, and workshop guides—shipped directly to your address for those who prefer tactile tools.

If you order the physical toolkit, you’ll still receive full access to the digital toolkit as well.

Do I need to purchase a physical deck to complete the course? No. You can complete the course using the downloadable version of The ECD. But many learners choose to add physical decks for practice or future facilitation.

Learn how having one physical deck per person reduces groupthink and herd mentality. 

Yes. You can order additional decks or toolkits anytime from our online store. Community members receive a 35% discount on all R&E courses and cards.

Absolutely. The tools and mindset you’ll learn are valuable whether you’re a team member, facilitator, coach, HR professional, or leader.

Yes. Each course teaches you how to confidently deliver ECD workshops using the tools in that speciality area (Culture, Leadership, Change, or Stakeholder).

Yes. Some Practitioners choose to complete multiple Specialist Courses simultaneously, but we recommend focusing on one at a time to get the most from the experience.

Some of our courses have been recognised by professional bodies. 

Our Emotional Change Strategy Course (when completed in-person by an ECD Certified Consultant) is recognised by ACMP for 5 hours of professional development. Online self-paced versions are not currently ACMP or ICF accredited.

If you’re enrolling a team of three or more people and are based in New Zealand, you can choose to pay via invoice.

For all other enrolments—including anyone outside of New Zealand—payment must be made online by credit card at checkout.

Yes, but all in-person courses are delivered by our global network of independant Certified Consultants and Masters — not directly by riders&elephants team.

These Certified Consultants & Masters deliver their courses using our official course curriculum. This means all in-person courses are independently scheduled, priced, and managed by them.

To find out if there’s an in-person course happening near you:

• Click here to find an upcoming public course near you — we update them as new courses are announced.

• Or get in touch directly with a Certified Consultant & Master in your region.

• Click here to find an ECD Consultant & Master >

All enrolments and logistics for in-person public courses are handled by the individual Consultant or Master delivering the course.

Yes! Many of our Certified Consultants & Masters offer in-house delivery of our ECD Specialist Courses for organisations.

This means you can bring the course to your workplace and have your team certified together. It’s a great way to build shared language, capability, and skills across your team.

We don’t coordinate these directly through R&E. Instead, we’ll connect you with a Consultant or Master in your region who can tailor the course to suit your team’s needs.

To explore this option, email us with some details about your team and what you’re looking for.

Yes! All learners join our global Elephant Rider community for 90 days, where you can ask questions, join events, and share bright spots. If you're part of a cohort course, you’ll also meet others in live calls. Many course participants mention that the learning that comes from within our community is what helps their confidence and skills grow the most!

The Emotional Culture Deck has been translated into 12 langaiges so far. Some of our core course tools have been translated too. If you’re working with a non-English-speaking group, reach out and we’ll see what’s available.

While all four ECD Specialist Courses are built on the same emotional culture methodology, there are two layers to the learning:

• Cross-Speciality Tools: These core tools appear across multiple courses and can be applied in any context. Each course teaches you how to use them with different emotional intentions and subtle facilitation shifts depending on the focus—these nuances are where the magic happens.

• Speciality-Specific Tools: Each course also introduces a unique set of tools, canvases, and conversation guides tailored to its specific leadership challenge:

  • Culture Crafting: For shaping team or organisational culture.

  • Leadership Development: For helping leaders grow and lead emotionally.

  • Change Strategy: For supporting teams and people through change.

  • Stakeholder Engagement: For building emotionally connected external partnerships and customer experiences.

If you complete all four ECD Specialist Courses, you will learn all the tools across our four ECD Frameworks. You’ll start to see how the work connects—and how to move from one-off workshops to defining end-to-end ECD journeys and emotional programmes. That’s exactly what our Certified Consultant Development Programme helps you master.