From what I've seen, the difference with the depth of understanding of the organization- its mission, goals, capabilities, and failings, and commitment to work

From what I've seen, the difference with the depth of understanding of the organization- its mission, goals, capabilities, and failings, and commitment to work with the organization's interests in mind. The Cowboy is- consciously or not- out for himself, and imagines the organization to be something other than it is in order to be able to present himself with some technical problem that he wants to solve. The problem the Cowboy is solving for is more or less irrelevant in the context of a deep understanding of the needs of the organization. The Wolf is aware of the organization as it is, works to solve the most important problem the organization faces, using technology, whether or not others in the management or executive hierarchy understand. This situation can arise particularly in older organizations that are in the midst of making a major transition, or facing major competitive or existential pressures. Strong engineers are often able to see the new physics by which digital businesses need to operate by before others, and may need to make decisions in accordance with that physics. TLDR: the Cowboy solves deep technical problems that are irrelevant to the business. The Wolf solves deep business problems using technology.