The principle
Make those above you feel comfortably superior — make them feel intelligent, never the reverse.
The application
When you display your talents to people in power you provoke insecurity, not admiration. The move is not to dim your light but to direct it: ascribe credit upward, ask their counsel, let your contribution feed their narrative. Brilliance that flatters the master is rewarded; brilliance that competes with him is punished, however quietly.
The defensive tell — how to spot it being run on you
When a peer defers a little too smoothly, gives you credit you did not quite earn, and asks you for advice on things they could solve alone, they are running this on you. The friendliness is the camouflage; the position above you is the target.