This is how it be:

My tech skills are pretty good, but my people skills are quite high level especially for a tech person. This makes me a fucking gold-plated valuable-ass unicorn in my field. I can get on a call with a customer and my boss doesn’t have to worry about me doing or saying bizarre crap, being generally weird, or alienating that customer in some other way. Over 90% of tech people simply cannot be trusted this way.

It also makes me able to schmooze with execs which means they think of me first when it comes time for promotion — especially since I already have leadership skills (polite way of saying I am bossy — have no trouble telling people what to do). But yeah, if you’re in tech and have good people skills you are doing better than nearly everyone and your path is cleared by general competence.