> [!info] Note metadata > **Title:** The Persona Trap - When Individuals Become the Culture > **Tags:** Culture, Leadership > **Type:** Reflection When a single individual or small group becomes synonymous with an organization's identity, the culture becomes fragile. The "persona trap" ties values and norms to specific people rather than principles that outlive them. This creates dependency: new members cannot embody the culture because it was never articulated beyond the behavior of a few. Sustainable culture must be demonstrable by anyone in the system, not just those who originally shaped it. If the culture walks out the door when a few people leave, it was never really a culture; it was a personality.