By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Is leadership innate or learned? Former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best believes it can be a combination of both and her new book “Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers and Racial Reconciliation” exemplifies this.
Leadership qualities come in different forms and can be found in many people as early as childhood, but Best alludes to the fact that leadership is a trait that can also be developed over time.
“For some, particularly in children, you may see leadership qualities,” says Best. “But I do believe that anyone can learn and develop leadership skills.”
After retiring from her leadership role in law enforcement, Best has become a teacher, a master providing our community and the world at-large with analysis and remedies as to how our communities can handle the adversities in which we encounter, because by her profession, Best’s job was to protect and serve communities.
Today, Best is taking full advantage of retirement from law enforcement becoming an author, media analyst and public servant, and her book chronicles her journey.
There are many reasons people feel compelled to share their journeys. In the case of Best, she hopes that it may help and inspire others.
“So much has happened over the course of my life especially the last year of my job as Police Chief,” says Best. “I have had an opportunity to reflect as I was moving on and I had thought about the many lessons I have learned, especially about leadership and helping others, I thought people could benefit from my experiences.”
A product of Tacoma, Washington, Best was a both a top student and track and field athlete at Lincoln High School, who later went on to compete and study at Eastern Washington University. After two years at Eastern Washington, Best decided the military was the next chapter of her life’s story, so in 1986 Best enlisted into the Army.
According to Best, the military was an integral part of her growth. She describes how the military has the ability to bring out a person’s leadership qualities, but it was the maturity that developed during her military experience that had the most impact on her life and career.
“I learned a lot in the military,” says Best. “Coming in as a woman there were challenges and some passes. In my era, for example, women couldn’t go into combat. It is hard to say if it was all good or all bad experiences, there were different aspects depending upon where you were and who you were dealing with.”
“In my book I talk about leadership skills that were developed early on, through my military experience, through the police department, through just personal experiences etc. But one of the things the military did was make me a bit more mature and I talk about this.”
An important value Best expressed is how important leadership is in this existence. There are leadership roles in every endeavor of life and those who choose to take on the responsibility have an opportunity to make an impact on society. A caring nature and a willingness to sacrifice for the benefits of others are leadership qualities that Best displayed early on in life. From protecting younger siblings to having the desire of becoming student body president, Best’s instincts to protect and serve were evident, even at an early age.
“There were signs of leadership qualities in Best even as child,” says Pat Hayes, a retired sergeant with the Seattle Police Department and longtime friend of Best.
“There is an example of leadership in her book,” continued Hayes. “It describes a moment when she was a little girl, and she was outside and her little brother’s hands were cold and she took off her gloves and gave them to her brother and I thought that was just so classic. Because I think one of the biggest pieces of leadership is helping other people and being a strong person yourself and being able to recognize that.”
Through her experience in life, Best witnessed just how leadership can impact the lives of people in a positive way and her book embarks on sharing just how she respects so many people, in various walks of life, who display leadership qualities throughout the diverse roles we play in our lives.
“I think what is really important is that somebody has to fill-in specific roles,” explains Best. “Leadership roles are pretty much in every facet of life. In doing so you can make an impact, a positive impact on the outcome of so many different things and I honestly admire the many people that I’ve seen step forward on the issues on a human level, or like civil service, or civic service, or just helping out being coaches or volunteering.”
“So many aspects of life really depend upon people having good leadership qualities,” added Best. “Really having a service leadership attitude and bringing their authentic selves to whatever that circumstance is and can really make a difference, and at the end of the day I am one of those people who really want to make a difference. It is an innate desire that I have.”
Although her path has not been easy, Best examines and embraces all of the challenges of her journey.
Leadership is not a simple task, and Former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske admires Best’s work ethic, her governance, her guidance and the way she handled the challenges that many leaders have to face.
“She (Best) really was a good leader,” says Kerlikowske. “She really had her challenges too in Seattle. I was Chief of Police for nine years and I’m not sure I had as many challenges in nine years that she had during her time.”
When asked about the characteristics of leadership and how Best exercised hers, Kerlikowske revealed one has to embody certain characteristics and have the ability to communicate effectively as they steer the ships helm.
“On the issue of leadership, you have to set the example for the people you work with,” Kerlikowske said. “I never heard her used the word or talked about “I”, it was always “we” and “our”. It was never “my department” or “the people that work for me”, you never heard that from her, but it builds that level of trust and confidence. Also, the work ethic issue is just extremely important. You can’t expect the very best from your folks if you are not setting that example. Her work ethic was extremely high.”
Whether or not you believe leadership is innate or learned, Best is a living example that it is both. As she rose through the ranks to become the first African American woman to lead Seattle’s Police force, only one who possesses such skills and is recognized for those skills can attain such a position.
“Leadership is kind of a double-edged sword,” says Best. “I think it can be both innate and learned. Because in my own journey my leadership skills have grown. I have learned some things. Again, it can be a double-edged sword, because there are some people who are born leaders, so I think that at some level it can be innate, but that doesn’t mean one cannot learn leadership skills.”
Retired Sergeant Hayes agrees and says that many people can learn a lot about leadership from Best.
“She (Best) is a true leader,” says Hayes. “She leads with passion, conviction, strength, guidance and truth.”
Best’s book is currently available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Target.
