All Pieces Included. None Missing.

“All pieces included. None missing.”

Every time I finish a puzzle, I bag up the pieces and write this on the label before taking it to my neighborhood puzzle library. (Yes, that’s a thing. Yes, it’s wonderful.)

If pieces are missing — which is rare, because nobody wants an incomplete puzzle — I note how many and circle the gap on the picture.

Yesterday, as I sealed the bag and wrote the date, a thought landed.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know your leadership team has all the pieces to complete the picture?

But here’s the thing about puzzles — and teams.

You can’t know what’s missing until you lay out all the pieces.

Most leadership teams skip this step. They’re frustrated the picture isn’t coming together, but they’ve never done the work to see what’s actually there. They assume they have everything they need because they hired smart people. They push harder on execution instead of pausing to ask whether they actually have what they need to build this.

Laying out the pieces means understanding each leader — their strengths, their gaps, their default patterns under pressure. It means seeing how those pieces fit together as a system, not just as individuals. It means being honest about where there’s a hole in the picture.

Sometimes you discover you have everything. You just needed to see it clearly.

Sometimes you find the gap — and now you can do something about it instead of wondering why the picture never comes together.

Either way, you can’t know until you do the work.

Have you laid out all the pieces on your team…or are you trying to complete the picture without knowing what’s missing?

Looking to increase the cohesion, trust, and impact of your leadership team? Reach out and let’s discuss The Compass Team Experience and how I can help.