"With hindsight, I determined two populations cared about the piece and one who did not. One was the "I want to be a wolf" crowd, and the next was the "How do I create a culture that encourages Wolves?" "How do I become a Wolf?" Wolves don't know they are wolves. They don't care about the label or the unique conditions that surround them. Wolves are the result of the work, not asking the question. Wolves don't ask to be wolves; they are."
"I have slightly helpful here. First, I've seen Wolves in every type of company. Tiny, medium, and huge. Enterprise, consumer, ad-tech, and pure services. Every single one had Wolves in their engineering-friendly companies. That's your job - building a culture conducive to engineering. After that. Nothing. Don't talk about 10x engineers at your All Hands. Build a safe, healthy, distraction-light, and drama-free environment where builders focus on building. That's where engineers do their best work."
Wolves are real, high-performing engineers who do not seek recognition or labels and remain focused on self-selected, essential projects. Two main audiences reacted: aspirants who want to emulate Wolves and leaders who want to create environments that attract them. Wolves appear across company sizes and industries when engineering-friendly conditions exist. Cultures that are safe, healthy, low on distractions, and drama-free enable builders to do their best work. Formalizing a "Wolf" role or shouting about 10x status can distract or drive Wolves away; they prefer autonomy and meaningful projects.
Read at Rands in Repose
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