Leaders in all areas of public life have a responsibility to those they serve to maintain credibility by conducting their duties in a manner that leaves no doubt that concerns of the people are paramount, and that at no time will they stray from that principle, even at the risk of losing political status.

Perhaps in the world of politics, the urge to survive could be so powerful that being truthful and transparent are gently pushed aside in a vain attempt at protecting an image usually created along the way to gaining public office. A harsh reality.

Any leader can end up in the hot seat should the electorate sense a tone of not being totally honest in dealing with important matters that affect community life.

This holds true in any democratic jurisdiction. Outside of dictatorial regimes, most leaders are elected to high office and the people who put them there expect nothing less thanan honest, unwavering commitment to solving problems to enhance their lives. When things for whatever reason fall terribly short, and people feel short-changed, the question of credibility jumps to the surface. Most politicians dread this because regaining public confidence is more difficult the second time around.

When leaders lose credibility, it is usually because they either act in a manner outside of expected conduct from those in authority, or they fall victim to badly chosen words to express a point of view. Eating crow is not elite dining for politicians. Although there are numerous other reasons that could cause a leader to fall from grace, losing credibility with the people remains one of the key factors.

A case in point is what happened in Chicago recently, when video footage of a white police officer shooting a black youth emerged after more than a year. There was outrage across the nation as to why it took so long to release footage that sharply conflicted with police accounts of what happened.

Chicago has long been riddled with gang-related shootings, but this particular shooting touched a nerve that even prompted the United States Justice Department to launch a full investigation into patterns of racial disparity in the use of force by one of America’s largest police departments. There was no question that the victim was a troubled young man. What stunned experts across the nation was that the video showed clearly that he posed no threat to officers, even though he was holding a three-inch knife at the time.

In the footage shown around the world, everyone could see for themselves the obviously hyped young man walking away from officers when he was cut down with 16 shots from an officer, who has since been charged with murder.

As rage exploded, all eyes turned to those in authority for answers as to why that video was released only after pressure from a reporter and a judge.

The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, faced an onslaught of questions hinting at a potential cover-up, which raised even further questions as to who was protecting whom.

Although he fired the police chief and his deputy in trying to restore calm, the mayor was unable to restore his credibility and massive demonstrations took place seeking his resignation.

The public believed that he had seen the footage and, while he gave various explanations for not releasing it, nothing he said changed their view that he, too, should go if the city is to move away from an image of abuse of power from police.

Chicago has many good police officers who do great work, but that work can be tarnished by an officer misusing force.

Without that grim video, that incident might have been just another police shooting with no further questions.

The significant issue to come out of this tragedy is that the mayor is seen by many, justified or not, as a leader who was reluctant to put truth with clear evidence out front because he knew it would have repercussions that might further shatter police confidence in an already troubled community.

The clear warning to any leader who aspires to maintain support from those he or she serves is that unless there is a high standard of conduct, in action and words, which convinces the electorate that respect, decency and transparency are key values in building a healthy society, credibility could be a problem.

Too often here in Bermuda, these values at times seem to be lost when political differences take centre stage, stifling efforts collectively to tackle the many problems confronting our community life.

We can learn something from Chicago, and that is no leader is immune from a loss of credibility when there are public concerns about performance.