The Missing Piece
Arriving at Kyle and Emily’s on Saturday evening, we found them busy with a jigsaw puzzle they’d been slowly working through for weeks. It wasn’t just any puzzle. It was a brilliant photo of Emily’s dad, Steve, leaning into a corner on his motorbike. A great Christmas gift and clearly a labour of love.
Early Sunday morning, I had a little time on my hands, so I sat down and decided I’d tried to fill in a few of the missing pieces.
My strategy was simple. Focus on one gap and find that piece first, patiently sifting through every spare piece on the table.
One by one. Carefully. Methodically. Thoroughly.
Sadly – none of them fitted.
After a half hour of effort, I reached a logical conclusion… “There must be a piece missing.”
Shortly afterwards, I announced over breakfast that the puzzle was clearly incomplete.
Emily calmly replied, “Did you look under the table?
I had not… Under the table was… a whole box of additional pieces.
Starting Over…
Another 15 minutes of careful searching. Still nothing. At this point I’d handled what felt like hundreds of pieces and was fairly certain the universe was against me.
Emily wandered over, glanced in the box, paused for a second, picked up a single piece and slotted it straight in.
Perfect fit…
I’d invested close to an hour.
She invested about ten seconds…. Grrr.
It struck me that this wasn’t really about jigsaws at all, rather it was a reminder about perspective.
I was focused on effort. If I just worked harder and examined every option, I’d eventually get there. Emily approached it differently. She looked at the bigger picture. The colours. The shape of the gap. The context. She wasn’t just searching pieces. She was thinking about the whole image.
In leadership, we often default to our own viewpoint. We double down. We try harder. We stay at the table longer. But sometimes the answer isn’t about more effort. It’s about a different lens.
The piece isn’t missing. It’s just in a box we haven’t looked in yet.
And occasionally, the smartest move is inviting someone else to look at the puzzle with you.
Different hands. Different eyes. Different viewpoints.
Same picture.
Usually, a much faster solution.
Who could offer a fresh perspective on a challenge you’re facing?
