'Your personality will get you 10 times richer than your intelligence,' says self-made millionaire who retired at 35

Steve Adcock and his wife, Courtney, retired in their 30s with about $900,000.

Steve Adcock left his corporate job in 2016 at age 35, having saved about $900,000. These days, the 42-year-old remains work-optional, and his net worth has grown to about $1.3 million.

It’s safe to say that over the course of the last couple of decades, he’s gotten a lot of things right when it comes to his money.

There is one thing, however, he says he wishes he knew in his 20s that could have made him wealthier, faster.

“Your personality will get you 10 times richer than your intelligence,” Adcock says. “I learned that throughout my career, slowly but surely. I worked with a lot of smart people, no doubt about it. But those smartest people in the office weren’t necessarily the ones getting the raises and promotions.”

Looking back, Adcock understands how this may feel counterintuitive, especially to young people hoping to work in a STEM field — which stands for science, technology, engineering and math — the way Adcock did. After all, being the smartest in the room is what tends to pay off in school.

But in the real world, your emotional intelligence — sometimes called EQ — is every bit as essential, if not more so, he says.

“Coming out of college, I just kind of assumed I’d have to be the smartest person in the office. But in the working world that’s just not the case,” Adcock says. “EQ is going to get you way more money and way more opportunities for promotion than IQ.”

How to show off your EQ at work

No one is saying that being smart and good at your job isn’t important. You’ll have to be savvy and competent to climb the corporate ladder in virtually any industry.

Adcock’s point is that you likely won’t advance your career on intelligence alone.

The smartest people in Adcock’s old tech job “were the ones doing the hardcore work — and obviously we need those people,” he says. “But you also need people to want to work with you. Being easy to get along with is going to propel you. That’s what’s going to put you in the position to get promotions and raises.”

It’s advice that rings true for Vicki Salemi, a career expert with Monster, who says that even someone crushing it at their job may find themselves getting passed over if there’s a sense that they’re in it for themselves.

“Someone else may not have the same outstanding track record, but they motivate people, they’re a positive impact on their workplace and their peers, and people like being around them,” she says. “That could potentially get that person further.”

It’s more than just having a can-do attitude or making good chit-chat at the water cooler. Here are three ways Salemi says you can show your employer that you have the sort of soft skills that make you worthy of a promotion.

1. Act the part

If you’re ready to take on a bigger job title at your company, start stepping into that role where you can, Salemi says.

“Even if the management position doesn’t exist, act as if you are the manager and take the lead,” she says.

That doesn’t mean you start wearing white collar shirts and bossing your colleagues around. Rather, make it a point to consistently come to meetings ready to propose new ideas and initiatives. Take the lead on organizing events or “extracurriculars” for you and your coworkers.

In general, “be the kind of person your teammates want to rally around,” says Salemi.

2. Get everyone on your side

If you’re looking to hone your soft skills, ask your boss which ones they think you should focus on in order to advance your career. “Ask them what areas you need to develop. Make them part of this journey with you,” says Salemi.

The same can go for colleagues and even external clients, Salemi says. “What do you think would be the most helpful things for me to focus on,” she suggests asking. “Again, you’re making them part of the solution.”

Then, take their advice and run with it. If they tell you, for instance, that you could be better when it comes to written communication, “there are so many online offerings when it comes to boosting that skill,” Salemi says.

3. Find a mentor

Do you have a favorite person in the office? It could be the person whose career you aspire to have or the colleague you enjoy working with the most. Ask them to show you the ropes, either in a formal or informal mentoring relationship, Salemi says.

What’s more, think about what makes them such a great colleague and copy them.

“Who in the organization is a true leader who exemplifies the values and behaviors you want to replicate?” Salemi says. “Take a page from their playbook.”

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