In short: A weekend building my family tree turned a project I had parked for years into something my whole family is now working on together. The lesson for leaders is that an overwhelming project becomes manageable, and even fun, once you start with what you know, stay on your direct line and bring your people with you.

For years, my family tree sat on my “when I get around to it” list, one of those projects I fully intended to do and kept saving for the perfect weekend. This weekend I finally made a start. In true Sharn style, it began a little bumpy, with plenty of fumbling and second-guessing, before I became so deeply engrossed that the weekend simply vanished. By late Sunday night I had found around 300 relatives, traced a line on my mum’s side back to Holland in 1635, taken my dad’s side back to 1750, and discovered a remarkable number of twins along the way. My husband has since announced that this makes me practically Viking, a claim the history books might challenge, and he has prescribed a rewatch of Game of Thrones so I can better understand my ancestry, a research method I am more than happy to support.

Somewhere around relative number 200, it struck me that I was getting a weekend-long lesson in the three things I work on with every client: how leaders think, how they lead and how their businesses grow.

Why do leaders put off the projects that matter most?

The family tree stayed on my list for years because it felt enormous, open-ended and very personal, which is exactly the profile of the projects leaders tend to park. The succession plan, the strategy reset and the honest conversation about where the business is heading all sit on the “later” list, because starting feels bigger than the work itself.

What shifted for me was the reason. Once I saw the tree as a way to understand myself better, it moved from a chore to a curiosity, and curiosity is a far better fuel than obligation. That is a mindset choice, and it is available to every leader with a project gathering dust.

Start with what you know and work backwards

Anyone who has built a family tree learns quickly that you begin with yourself and work back one generation at a time, confirming each link before you reach for the next. That approach is a gift for any leader facing an overwhelming goal. You already hold a clear picture of where you are today and a sense of the destination, so the work becomes a series of connected, verifiable steps instead of one giant leap. In my work with business owners, this is how we approach building value in a business and creating the freedom to choose what comes next, one solid link at a time.

How do you avoid strategic rabbit holes?

Here is where I needed real discipline. It is incredibly easy to wander down branches with no direct line to me, the cousins of cousins of cousins, each one fascinating and each one capable of swallowing an hour before you notice. Every business has its own version of these branches: the interesting initiative, the side project, the opportunity that looks urgent and sits a long way from the goal.

The question I started asking myself is one I now recommend to every leadership team: is this on our direct line? When the answer is yes, it earns your time, and when it belongs to a distant cousin, park it for another day.

Why bring your team on the journey?

The project really came alive when I reached out to other family members. Suddenly we were all working on a joint school project, each person holding a piece of the puzzle: a photo here, a name there, and now an email address for a relative in Holland. Through that collaboration, we are building something that literally relates to all of us, pun fully intended, and the shared ownership has turned a solitary task into something genuinely fun.

Leadership works the same way. Your team holds knowledge, connections and energy you can only reach by inviting them in. A goal that felt overwhelming to carry alone often becomes the project everyone wants to be part of.

What have you been putting off?

So here is my question for you. What is the project you have been putting off as a leader because it simply seems too big? What would change if you started with what you know, kept to your direct line and invited your team on the journey with you? You might be surprised how quickly a collective goal becomes an enjoyable one.

As for me, I now have the email address of a family member in Holland, which sounds like the perfect excuse to plan a visit when I head to Europe next year.

Frequently asked questions

How can leaders stop putting off big projects?
Start with what you already know and work towards the goal in small, connected steps, confirming each one before moving on. Seeing the project as a source of curiosity instead of an obligation makes starting far easier.

How do you avoid rabbit holes when planning strategy?
Test every task against your direct line by asking whether it moves you towards the goal. Interesting side branches can be parked for later so your time goes to the work that matters.

Why involve your team in an overwhelming goal?
Your team holds knowledge, connections and energy you can only reach by inviting them in. Shared ownership turns a heavy solo task into a collective goal people enjoy contributing to.