Where I found myself in it.
Wolves have a reputation. They are the villain of fairy tales, most people are a little afraid of them, and in business "the wolf of" usually conjures up a ruthless dealmaker who treats people as prey. None of that is what I stand for.
In shamanic traditions the wolf is a power animal, a guardian that walks beside a person. But I didn't reason my way to it. The more I learned about the wolf, the more of myself I recognized in it. I am not a safe or comfortable coach. I will challenge you, and I do it from care, never from judgment.
What I recognized most is a tension. A wolf is deeply loyal to its pack, and yet it is free. It thinks for itself and explores, and when it is convinced, it acts, even if no one follows. Sometimes it leaves the pack altogether to break new ground.
I don't want to resolve that tension for you. I want you to lead from inside it. Good leadership needs both: the loyalty to nourish your people, and the freedom to think, to speak up and to do what is right when it is not popular. The wolf doesn't ask you to become something other than yourself. It reflects a part of your own leadership back to you.
The ruthless "alpha wolf" comes from studies of wolves kept in captivity. In the wild, a pack is a family, led by the experienced ones who protect it, teach it and hold it together.