To be precise, “not behaving higher-status” is relatively easy.
The point isn’t to never behave in a higher-status matter. If a non-tech person asks you what’s wrong with their computer and they know you are a programmer they believe that you have status as far as computer related issues go.
When people behave as if they are lower status then they are believed to be that’s also bad. Nobody likes to sit in a lecture by a teacher who thinks he’s lower status than his students.
The relevant social skill is to understand what other people expect from you. If they expect you to help them fix one of their problems the allocate you usually the kind of status that they think you would need for helping them solve their issue.
The point isn’t to never behave in a higher-status matter. If a non-tech person asks you what’s wrong with their computer and they know you are a programmer they believe that you have status as far as computer related issues go.
When people behave as if they are lower status then they are believed to be that’s also bad. Nobody likes to sit in a lecture by a teacher who thinks he’s lower status than his students.
The relevant social skill is to understand what other people expect from you. If they expect you to help them fix one of their problems the allocate you usually the kind of status that they think you would need for helping them solve their issue.