Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 23

If I did not tirelessly continue in work, people, O son of Prithâ, would in every way follow my path.

What someone with real influence does gets copied, whether or not that was ever the intention.

Krishna isn't claiming special exemption here, he's naming the actual cost of stepping back: people watching him would take that as license to do the same, regardless of whether they understood why.