I’m always asking my readers and speaking audiences to tell me their real-world, real life questions about decisions and choices you need to make in your life at work. Here’s one I hear all the time: “What do I do if my skills are not being utilized?”

(Personally, I hate the word “utilized” for anything having to do with human beings, but somehow, that’s the real language many of you are using. So be it.)

If that’s you, and your skills are not being used at their best and highest use, read on.

Let’s dig into what’s happening for YOU when you feel like your skills are not being utilized.

First, write out what you’re noticing. Just the facts here, please–no opinions or interpretations. Your facts may sound like this: 

• Others are doing work I thought I was responsible for
  
• I don’t have enough to do
  
• Other’s expectations of my job/work standards are lower than mine
• I’m not learning and growing
• I’m overloaded with minor tasks and not spending enough time on what I do best.
• I’m bored.
• Or something else?

Now, with the facts in hand, pay attention to the story you’re telling yourself about those facts.

For example, you might be telling yourself a story like this:

“I don’t have enough to do. I think it’s because my boss doesn’t trust me and keeps everything on her own plate, and so she’s over-busy and I have too much time on my hands.”

“I don’t have enough to do” is a fact. But “my boss doesn’t trust me” is your story–and it could be true, but it may not be.

It’s your job to investigate the story and go find the truth.

Too often, we don’t do this exploration. We don’t ask for clarity. We don’t say to ourselves “what else could be going on here?” We get stuck thinking that our current state will last forever, when it might just be one conversation away from being fixed.

Need help getting clear? Try my on-demand class Get Career Clear, with five short video segments and powerful tools to help you move forward, faster. More here.

2. Consider How Your Leader Hears It

A client of mine had a similar “my skills are not being utilized” conversation with his leader. And he expected something to change.

It did, all right.

He suddenly found himself the owner of every failing, languishing project in his department.

Ouch.

Almost overnight, he became overwhelmed—and angry.

The work that now came his way felt like busywork, time-wasters, and was far, far away from his superpower space.

Here’s his mistake.

He didn’t get clear about what the problem was and so didn’t realize how his leader heard his request.

In this case,  this leader made up his own story. He heard “I’m not busy enough.” He didn’t hear “I’m not doing enough of the kind of work where I can make a bigger contribution.”

My bet is that my reader (above) had a leader who heard “my skills are not being utilized” as information, not as a request. And it probably doesn’t sound like enough of a problem to her to move into any action. After all, why wouldn’t anyone just want to relax and enjoy the summer?

3.  Outline the SRA

Now that you know what your specific problem is. You also recognize how it might be heard. So it’s time for your SRA:

Your Specific, Reasonable Action.

What do you want someone to DO? Hearing about the problem is one thing, but what request are you really making? How can someone help you?

It might sound like this:

So . . . Do You Need a New Job?

For the reader who wrote in above, I understand the husband’s concern that he sees you’re not happy and thinks you need a new job. Until you’ve done the work of asking for what you need where you are, that jury should be out.

I always caution people that it always SEEMS easier to jump to a new job when your current situation gets tricky.

But the stronger, more satisfying path is to first apply a bit of courage and confidence to your current situation and see how you can make your current work work for you.