The Australian cricketers put up a questioning appeal that was half-hearted at best. The umpire shook his head, clearly mouthing the words, ‘not out’. But Indian batter Punam Raut still decided to walk back to the pavilion with barely a second’s hesitation, convinced that she had nicked the ball to the wicket-keeper in the recently concluded one-off pink-ball Test match between the two countries. In doing so, Raut decided to not compromise on her integrity, upholding what the commentators dubbed as the ‘spirit of the game’. But that ‘spirit’ doesn’t merely extend to the cricket field. Acknowledging and owning up to your mistakes, even when others haven’t spotted it, is the sign of a strong moral compass even in an office scenario, where a person’s ethical belief system counts for as much as his or her competence in the job. Here, two experts tell us why honesty is the best policy in a work environment, where hiding the truth or outright lying can land you in all sorts of trouble.

>>Integrity is key: At the end of the day, says psychologist and success coach Sushma IR, what’s important is what you stand for as a person. “If you subscribe to the idea of integrity and the right ethics, owning up to your mistake will mean that you aren’t let down in your own eyes. In a way, each person is a brand individually, and each brand has its qualities and attributes that add up to the brand equity. So, it’s about how you perceive yourself from that standpoint,” she tells us, while image consultant Greeshma Thampi adds, “It really is important that we understand what the core values we have grown up with are. Some people value kindness and respect. Others value honesty, and if you have 100-per cent clarity on what your values are, your decision-making becomes really simple. In Raut’s case, she took the decision to walk because she knew that she’d have to look into the mirror and face herself the next day. She had that clarity [which helped her walk back voluntarily].”