Two words which can quintessentially capture the essence of MSD's persona and his leadership are 'honesty' and 'humility' which have shaped, led and guided his personal as well as professional life forever and have enabled him to achieve what he has truly deserved - honour, respect & unflinching loyalty of his teammates as the extraordinary leader and, of course, the triple crown of cricket. How honesty helps someone is that it enables one to face and accept the harsh reality, including, setbacks, skill limitations, shortcomings etc. the way it is. And when one accepts the reality it starts the chain reaction of change, improvement and betterment.

As per the venerable Kübler-Ross model of change, a person goes through the following five stages when faced with an emotional setback or undesired change:- Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. If, being honest to ourselves, we straightway 'accept' the reality the way it is by somehow managing to bypass the emotional clouds and start from there, it really shortens the curve. That's what Dhoni, being his stoic self, does very effectively always which takes him really ahead of his current reality really quickly in the future-focused mode. Also, a person can really be honest and fair with others only if he is honest with himself with a strong moral compass and that's why it becomes indispensable to success in the leadership role...

So, the proverbial wisdom, 'honesty is the best policy' indeed still holds...Q.E.D. by MSD!