The principle
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency. Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds — use others as scapegoats and cat's paws to disguise your involvement.
The application
In its raw form, this is moral cowardice. The literacy version: the most senior version of any conflict is the one in which the conflict appears to happen without you ever taking an action that could be cited. Some people are extraordinarily good at this. Recognise the pattern.
The defensive tell — how to spot it being run on you
When something controversial happens "by accident" but the only person who benefits is one specific senior figure, the accident is rarely accidental. Trace who could not possibly have known and who could not possibly have avoided knowing.