The principle
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of others to advance your own cause; their efforts become your own immortal achievement.
The application
This is the law of leverage, stated cynically. The honest reading is: you cannot do everything yourself, so build a team and frame their wins as a system you built. The dishonest reading is the one most people will recognise when it is done to them.
The defensive tell — how to spot it being run on you
Watch for the colleague who is always nearby when work is presented but never visible while it is being done. Document early, share working drafts, cc upward at the discovery stage — not the announcement stage. Credit follows the paper trail.