As I write this, companies are hungry for schedulers across the globe. I talk with project controls managers every week, either on sales calls or on our Plan Academy live training sessions, and they want to hire schedulers.
But not just any scheduler.
What I’m told over and over is, “We’re looking to hire only schedulers with 3 to 5 years of experience. Right now. As many as you know.”
Why 3 to 5 years of experience? Well, if I read between the lines, what they really want is people who are capable and confident.
Are schedulers with 3 to 5 years of project experience always capable and confident, and thus the ideal candidate for a hungry hiring manager?
I would argue no, they are not.
That’s because time on the job does not equate to confidence and capability. We could explore this idea in detail, but let’s save it for another day and agree that it’s true.
Because I also hear from managers their stories about the bad hires and the schedulers who looked amazing on paper, with glowing resumes and a long list of project experience, but couldn’t schedule a 30-line project if their lives depended on it.
So then, how do we become confident and capable as schedulers?
In simple terms, we choose to be leaders in our field.
Leadership. What it means to be a leader as a scheduler.
“Leaders” are not just managers who have staff reporting to them. Certainly, that’s one way to define a leader.
But I’m more interested in this definition.
“A leader is someone who consistently demonstrates excellence in their role by setting high standards, taking initiative, and influencing others through their expertise, vision, and actions.”
I believe if you demonstrate excellence in your role and perceive yourself as a leader, no matter how many years of experience you have, you will show up with more confidence and capability.
To get there, we need to ensure that we’re not only focusing on our technical scheduling skills, but also our non-scheduling skills. This is called our Mindset.
That’s why it says on our homepage – “Building Project Leaders”. We want to part of developing people from all skillsets, not only technical scheduling and tools, but mindset and soft skills also.
The Power of Owning Your Role
In my experience, schedulers are often viewed as if they have a clerical job. It’s not something that’s explicitly stated in job postings, but once you’re in the role, it can feel that way. However, I want to emphasize that scheduling is much more than just creating a schedule and handing it over. You’re a valued member of the team, and your role involves far more responsibility than just putting together timelines.
Personally, I’ve felt out of my depth on more than a few projects. I don’t have an engineering degree. And that has sometimes left me feeling deeply self-conscious in my role. I’ve been in rooms full of engineers, project managers and contractors who have careers being embedded in amazing projects. The sheer weight of the experience in the room left me super intimidated.
Yet, I had to remind myself that while these folks knew how to build things, they didn’t know how to build schedules—that’s where I came in. My skill set was just as crucial.
I also think about the experiences of a colleague of mine, Cindy, who often found herself as the only woman in the project meetings. Sometimes people would treat her as if her role was to take meeting minutes and build the schedule, which isn’t right. It’s important that whether you’re a man or a woman, you understand your worth and don’t let yourself get stuck in a I’m-lesser-than mindset.
Own your role, own your domain. Only when you do, can you deliver your best work and let your personal leadership shine.
Setting High Standards
In my P6 training classes, I’m always preaching “attention to detail” is what makes good schedulers great. Write this down –
“Nuance is important. Details matter.” – Michael Lepage
Assuming you have good technical scheduling and software skills, then you can become exceptional by paying closer attention to details than anyone else. This is one way to demonstrate leadership in your role by setting a high bar for yourself and the work you produce.
For example, I’m writing this blog post for you. Because I value my work and stand behind it 100%, I promise you that this post will be:
- Well written, authored by me, with no bad grammar, run-on sentences or bad writing
- Well organized so you can digest it easily, maybe see the big headings, and also appreciate the stories and details inside
- Have a well thought out title. It’s probably the thing we work hardest at. I want my work to be read and nowadays that means crafting a compelling attention-grabbing title
- It has visuals
- If you read all of it, you’ll get the thesis because I took a lot of English classes in school.
I want my work to be awesome, to be seen by my peers as high-quality work. And you should too.
Make your project schedules awesome. Don’t skimp on important details that could be included. Make your schedules easy to understand by considering both the macro and micro details.
Here are some easy options to consider:
- Use good naming conventions
- Make description clear, avoid jargon or too many abbreviations
- Use colors to help organize your schedule
- Adopt a hierarchy that makes sense for your WBS
- Space things out so they can be read more easily
- Adopt a numbering scheme for activity IDs
- Add documentation using Notebooks or UDFs
Most importantly, stand by your work. Be proud of what you create and constantly improve it.
“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” – Steve Jobs
Taking Initiative
If there’s one thing that leaders do, it’s taking action or initiative to solve problems.
In one of my early jobs as a Project Manager at American Express, I was often caught off guard by my boss, who would randomly ask for updates on various projects throughout the day. He might run into me in the hall and ask me the status of some work task someone on the team was assigned.
With multiple projects to manage, I was never prepared with the specific information he wanted in that moment, which frustrated both of us. I hated getting caught off-guard. Although I was doing a good job managing a dozen projects, these interactions made me feel like I wasn’t up to stuff.
To address this problem, I decided to take a proactive approach by creating a simple, one-page dashboard for each project. I then set up a weekly meeting with my boss to review all of the projects, ensuring I was always prepared. This structured approach worked so well that my boss adopted the report format for his projects and shared it with others on the team, including HIS boss. I was no longer surprised in the hallway, because I was giving my boss the information he needed.
To be proactive, it takes personal ownership of a problem. Not excuses and complaints about how crappy things can be. Rather, by taking ownership of a problem, you can effect change or influence.
I think more schedulers can adopt this principle of taking a bigger slice of ownership for projects they work on by taking initiative in this way.
Now, I’m not naïve; I’m aware there are challenging project environments to work in, with lots of politics and interpersonal discord. But no said excellence was easy.
“Mastering others is strength; mastering oneself is true power” – Lao Tsu
Get Out of Your Seat
As a scheduler, I don’t have direct authority over anyone, so I can’t just tell people what to do. Instead, I rely on the schedule to highlight upcoming issues and work with the team to find solutions. To be effective, I need to build relationships with the people doing the work—superintendents, contractors, and even vendors. By engaging with them, asking questions, and going on site walkabouts, I can gain valuable insights and better understand how the schedule translates into reality. This helps me identify potential consequences and ask the right questions, making the schedule clearer and more actionable.
To lead in your role, get out of your chair and go talk to people on the project. Walk the project site if you can. Talk to foremen, truck drivers, engineers, project managers, etc. Talking to people means your interested.
By being interested, relationships become more cordial, which leads to better project discussions. When issues arise, we have some rapport to work from and everyone is more willing to contribute and find solutions, rather than becoming defensive. It’s essential to not stay isolated in an office but to work closely with key people on the project directly.
Now Is The Time To Lead
Becoming a capable and confident scheduler isn’t just about gaining experience—it’s about how you choose to show up every day. Whether you have three years on the job or thirty, leadership is a mindset that you can cultivate in your role. It’s about owning your expertise, setting high standards for your work, and taking initiative to solve problems, and feeling awesome of yourself at the same time.
Remember, think of yourself as a leader in your role. You can lead by demonstrating excellence, by taking ownership of your work, and by being proactive in your approach to every challenge that comes your way. As schedulers, we are responsible for more than just project schedules and reports —we help drive the success of entire projects.
It’s time to get out of your seat, engage with your team, and try on a new belief in yourself as a leader; a whole new attitude maybe.
When you combine technical skills with a leader’s mindset, you’ll find that confidence and capability naturally follow. And in today’s market, that’s exactly what companies are hungry for.
Resources
If any of this resonates with you, then you should listen or watch my discussion with fellow scheduling experts Greg Lawton and Micah Piippo on their podcast Beyond Deadlines. We discuss Leadership in project environments in greater detail.
