We’ve said that opportunities still exist . . . they may even be more plentiful. They may just look a little different.

An old management saying goes “You need the right person, in the right place, at the right time.”

We are suggesting a change to that saying. What if there were more right places? More right places mean more opportunities to grow and develop. It’s happening now in organizations where career mobility is taking hold. So our update of the phrase would be “When more right places are named and visible, more right times will be available to accommodate, engage, and retain all the talented right people throughout the organization.” An inclusive environment, where everyone has growth opportunities, can take hold and flourish in your workplace, too.

Career mobility patterns are flexible. Like the small, colorful beads in a kaleidoscope, which tumble and reshuffle, development experiences can happen in different sequences tailored to individual preferences, abilities, timing, and tastes. When a slight change—a twist of the kaleidoscope—happens, new patterns and possibilities surface. When you want to know your options, you can twist the tube to see what emerges. Or, let’s face it, sometimes that kaleido-scope may be shaken by external forces. A merger or reorganization can produce a whole new landscape of possibilities. We need to adjust our vision to see not just the ladder but also the adjacent possibilities.

Regardless of how the patterns come to be, they will be combinations of the six experiences—enrichment, exploratory, lateral, realignment, vertical, and relocation experiences—that we introduce in the following chapters.

Grow Here

You can make a current job more interesting and challenging through enrichment. You can grow in place right where you are. All it takes is a very small twist of the kaleidoscope. Shift some tasks. Take on others. A small shift can transform the current job into a learning lab. Specialists build entire careers from patterns of enrichment experiences. They get better and better at what they do and deepen their contributions along the way. Ask yourself what you learned this week or this month. You might be surprised.

Try before You Buy

You can think of the exploratory experience as a chance to investigate possibilities. It may involve short-term work assignments or shadowing someone who’s in a position you may be considering. The exploratory experience could be as simple as having a conversation about the requirements of a role that seems attractive to you. It’s a chance to check things out to see what will work—and what might not work. Exploring is a very smart step to take before investing time and energy in pursuing other experiences. Exploratory can be a bridge from enrichment to any of the other experiences. Think about an assignment that intrigues you. How could you learn more about it?

Sideways to Highways

Lateral experiences usually mean pay doesn’t change. Status and scope of responsibility are typically the same or similar. New perspective is the payoff from a lateral experience. When you take on a role in another function or department, you get to view your responsibilities and the organization through a new lens. Lateral experiences can help you to fine-tune skills, build new relationships, learn a new or different approach, acquire deeper hands-on expertise, see the organizational operations from a different angle, and add to your knowledge base. What sideways options could offer you a new view?

Step Back for a Reason or a Season

People sometimes choose to realign or step back to refocus. Maybe the current job was just not a fit and you’re brave enough to admit it. Maybe this step opens a whole new vista that seems exciting, in a part of the organization that’s new or growing. It can also be about finding a role that is less demanding, more enjoyable, and better aligned with personal priorities. With the ever-increasing focus on work–life balance, a realignment move is sometimes based on a personal need that, if ignored, might result in a resignation and exit. Realignment usually means letting go of certain responsibilities, time commitments, and, potentially, salary. Whatever the reasons, it is a valid, important option. Have you ever had to take a step off the treadmill for some reason?

When Up Is the Way

As we’ve said, the ladder hasn’t completely disappeared. The rungs aren’t all gone. For some people, a vertical move absolutely makes sense. When it works for the organization and for the individual, a vertical experience should definitely be included in the pattern. Vertical moves can bring with them many of the traditional symbols of success, such as titles and monetary compensation. A vertical experience could mean leading a team or project and taking on a more visible role. In reality, it can also come with headaches, so careful thought about when, if, and how a vertical experience would fit into your career pattern is essential. How will you know when or if a move up is right for you?

Is That Grass Really Greener?

There’s always a way out. The exit door is always there. Relocation means leaving for an entirely new organization or industry. It’s awkward and sometimes really tough to acknowledge this one. But, alas, it is real. And every person knows the option to step out the door is there. In the past, however, once the door closed, it locked. Today, it’s exciting to see how many who leave are welcomed back when they decide to return. And they bring a wealth of new knowledge with them. Some of our clients use the label “boomerang employee” with pride. What are some signs that it might be time to look outside your current organization for your next growth opportunity?

Go for It!

The chapters that follow define each of these six experiences. You will find ideas about how to think and talk about them—how each experience might fit into a current or future career pattern.

Before we dive into each of the six experiences, we have a few suggestions for getting started.

First, examine how to grow through enrichment experiences. What can you learn right where you are?

Next, use exploratory experiences to test other roles and examine other functions or areas.

Enrichment and exploratory experiences carry low risk and can be great ways to learn and grow without physically moving to a new area or a new job. They open up multiple alternatives and often can be done while still committed to the demands of the current job. Both can lead to any of the other experiences.

When you are ready to create your pattern, examine lateral, realignment, vertical, and, yes, even relocation experiences to build unique and flexible career mobility patterns. What possibilities are adjacent to what you are doing right now? Should the next experience be lateral? Does it make sense to plan a realignment in another function in order to switch disciplines? Should a vertical experience appear in the pattern? If so, when? And where? Is it time to consider relocation? It’s your pattern. It’s your career.

Remember that this approach is what we suggest, but ultimately the selection and placement of the six types of experiences is up to each individual. Careers are made up of multiple experiences creating a unique pattern that belongs solely to the individual.

Those Right Places for More Right People

So, there can be many more times and places for all the talented people in any organization. Taking a broad and flexible approach to career growth is key. Adopting a career mobility mind-set that views change as opportunity can open entirely new landscapes for development. Inclusive and widespread talent development results from supporting career patterns that include interfacing with new colleagues, reporting to new leaders, moving from team to team, and learning how differently we all operate. Imagine how much more plentiful growth opportunities could be if individuals appreciated and planned these experiences.