3.3.1. Traditional Moral Leadership Approaches

Managers most often mention the importance of compassion and support for their juniors, which aligns with moral leadership theory [29,30,49–51]. It implies managers not only try to be actively aware of the stressors they put on juniors, but also make them discussable. In our interviews, managers emphasized the importance of actively approaching juniors, especially those who seem stressed. Manager 8 claimed she "always asks them a lot of questions". Her junior (junior 8 in Table 7) confirmed this.

A second aspect, also mentioned in moral leadership literature, is an 'open culture for social control', as it creates positive social effects [29] (p. 139). This is relevant, as consultants mostly work together in project teams [69] (p. 559). Our interviewees illustrated how managers help to establish an open culture, in which peers are encouraged to express their feelings to each other. Manager 10 (Table 7) stated how important it is to create an environment in which everybody can 'speak up'. Her junior (10) confirmed the open culture and the social control: "I experience the social control. It means there is sufficient attention for the persons themselves, and how they really feel, instead of only a result focus, this extreme focus." Junior 9 (see Table 7) has a similar experience of social control, and mentions that colleagues take care of each other.

Third, managers try to be approachable and to react with understanding and forgiveness if juniors approach them. Manager 10 stated that if a junior dared to approach her, she would definitely listen and then try to manage the problem. Manager 4 illustrated a similar attitude: "You try to find out what is the matter, and then seek for a solution together. That cartoon suggesting to dismiss them immediately is not our approach, and I would not support it." His junior confirmed the approachable "the doors are always open" and the forgiving approach of his manager (junior 4, Table 7), but he knows other stories as well, where you "first need to book your appointment".

The impact of acting as a moral example is sufficiently discussed in the literature, as documented in our theory section. However, the tactic was hardly mentioned by our interviewees, indicating it is a difficult one in the context of consulting. Manager 11 (Table 7, bottom row) acknowledged that juniors find it difficult to open up about stressors, and yet he expressed that if he became open about himself, "it is easier for people to open up also". Only one junior (junior 9) referred to exemplary behaviour of one manager who did not respond to an email she had sent on a Sunday. That manager explained later that the weekend should be weekend. However, this does not seem to be standard practice in this occupation.
