To quote the asian guy from Tokyo Drift "Life is simple - you make choices and never look back"
Sometimes you have to act subordinate, while keeping your poise. Play the character, do the role well, but never actually be subordinate. Always keep your own career goals (knowledge, contacts, credibility) in mind and protect them, because corporate incoherence will assault your goals from all sides. It's rare that anyone will look out for you, and usually managers can't (that's called "playing favorites") so you have to do that for yourself. Your real boss is someone you can't get away from but who can't fire you: it's you.
It truly helps you read some situations as one does act differently when a high or low status is assigned to you, it is striking how it affects behaviour, both in the game and when applied to real life.