What you said is correct. Some plants are able to dedifferentiate tissue of an organ, then redifferentiate that tissue into meristematic tissue which can then form any organ, including a stem. You can root a compound leaf from a schefflera, but the propagule would be incapable of producing a stem unless it includes a node, which already contains meristematic tissue. When you root a leaf and the incomplete plant (incomplete because there is no stem) won't grow a stem, it is termed a 'blind cutting'.

Al