A good bit has been written about the issues an academic leader should consider when thinking about whether to step back from a leadership role. Most recently, Lisa Jasinski has presented a solid list of the issues to examine in Stepping Away, a terrific resource I have recently discussed [1]. I don’t want to rehash those points, but I do want to dig into an issue that merits more conversation: how to address the pressure from well-meaning colleagues and friends to stay in your role even while you are busy articulating for them the reasons why stepping back is appropriate.