What’s the biggest purchase you’ve ever made?

Maybe it was a car or a home or a major appliance. It would be hard to imagine driving that car off the lot without reading all you can about it, or at least sitting in it or taking it for a spin.

We probably would not schedule delivery of a new refrigerator without first making sure those shelves will accommodate that five-gallon water pitcher. We watch potential buyers on real estate shows decide not to take a risk after walking through a few rooms or peering into closets. And yet, too often we see employees leap into a new role without considering all the implications—without investigating possibilities—without an exploratory experience or two.

Taking on a new role or responsibility without doing the homework can increase stress. Learning more about a role will identify opportunities that would be a great fit. It can also eliminate others from consideration, or at least place them in the “not so great” or “maybe later” categories. Exploratory experiences can bring development plans to life by providing a road map of behaviors to acquire or polish in order to be seriously considered for a future role. We have all known colleagues who took on leadership roles, only to discover that managing people was not their favorite thing.

New functions, expanded markets, and innovation teams are forming and reforming at breakneck speed. All are ripe with learning opportunities and may look enticing. The key is to find the right ones . . . the opportunities that fit interests, skills, values, and aspirations.

Tailored to Fit: Small, Medium, Large

Here’s the punch line about exploration: it’s an elastic experience that stretches or contracts based on interests. It also gives you a safety net. You can return to home base after the experience with the newfound understanding you need to make informed decisions and choices.

It’s easy to get started. Here are a couple of steps to take.

Open the investigation by asking:

•    What areas interest you?

•    What functions or departments do you want to check out?

•    What roles are you curious about?

Build a plan by asking:

•    How can you find answers?

•    What resources can you use?

•    What help do you need?

Encourage multiple “try it before you buy it” experiences. There is a wide range of options within the exploratory experience. Selecting the right ones depends on the focus of your investigation, the nature of the information you want, the degree of detail you’re seeking, and the availability of resources and connections.

Here are three categories to help you plan.

SMALL AND SIGNIFICANT: GATHER INFORMATION

Small but significant exploratory experiences take very little time. Some can be accomplished without leaving the current job or even stepping away from the desk! Brainstorm ideas for gathering the information you want. Some useful and speedy ways of info gathering include:

•    informational interviews with subject matter experts;

•    role and job family descriptions;

•    company intranet sites and blogs; and

•    internal newsletters and updates.

If you have never conducted an informational interview, use the questions provided in the blue box to prepare.

MEDIUM AND MEANINGFUL: WITNESS THE ACTION

Exploratory experiences may take you away from the job briefly. The trade-offs are worth it, though. Employees who complete exploratory experiences return with a deeper understanding of another area or position. They build a greater awareness of how their work impacts others.

Medium-size exploratory experiences can include job shadowing, focused observations, cross-functional meetings, town halls, webinars, and more.

To support medium-size exploratory experiences, managers may need to make connections with other groups, find coverage for the time the employee will be away from the job, and have conversations to clarify what will be learned from the experience. In addition to technical answers, watch for the following:

•    Surprises—what happened that was unexpected?

•    Delights—what seemed most promising about the role or function?

•    Concerns—what was discouraging or made you pause?

•    Skills—what capabilities are must-haves to succeed in the explored role?

Exploratory experiences can offer insights into the daily tasks of a role or function. Those insights are critical to making informed career mobility choices. Whether you come away from the experience fired up about an area or ready to look at other options, you have more information to help you create your career pattern. And you have added to your network of connections.

BIG AND BOLD: TRY IT

Big and bold exploratory experiences usually take you away from the current role for more extended, but temporary, periods. Some of the most common experiences in this category include:

While big and bold experiences may require investments of time and sometimes money, the payoffs can be considerable. Employees return with a richer understanding of the organization and better information for evaluating their career patterns. They bring back and incorporate into the current role the skill sets they developed elsewhere, thus expanding their own and their team’s capability.

Informed Choices Beat Bad Decisions Every Time

Exploratory experiences provide opportunities to gather information, network with new people, and validate or disprove assumptions—all leading to better career mobility decisions. Yes, there will still be a few bad decisions. Every career pattern includes a few of those. And we learn from them as well. But by selecting pattern pieces that allow for exploring, you can avoid uninformed choices and perhaps a few of those bad decisions.