Every team has a lone wolf. My thought today: every team NEEDS a lone wolf. This is the person that wonders “why?” and asks it out loud (and not just to have something to say as in “Let’s be able to answer the ‘why question’ so we’ll get more funding”). Yes, team work, team work is the key…yes, yes, yes…but when a team becomes merged into a unit without individual pulses–it’s time to be a lone wolf. Yes, you may be a lone wolf if you…

1. Find yourself wondering why a weak team-created logo, tagline, or message is being used right up until the point it is going to be printed.

2. Ask yourself why a rent-a-rep was paid to tell you about the same problems that have been talked about by everyone in your agency for years.

3. Realize that moving-target-deadlines and schedules don’t really need to be moving targets at all–it’s just a manifestation of indecision.

4. Actually ask about the things that came across your mind or up in discussions during lunch.

5. Find yourself wanting to howl out loud at the end of a meeting that most everyone else quietly slumped out of.

We all have our lone wolf moments. Let’s find the power the lone wolves to get us out of the ordinary and into overwhelming excellence. Alpha Wolves may be in pre-meetings getting the skinny, Lone Wolves have the energy to spread the team into real action. Howl on.