- Welcome to Mind Tools' Video Learning Series. Think back to your best and worst bosses. What was it about the best ones that inspired you to do great work? What was it about the worst ones that made working for them, so difficult? Chances are their ability to manage their own emotions and assess the mood of their team had a major impact on you and the people around you. Leadership experts, Daniel Golman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee identified six emotional leadership styles that skilled leaders can use and adjust depending on the situation and circumstance. The first is visionary leadership. Visionary leaders inspire and push people to use their initiative. To develop visionary leadership, you need to have confidence, empathy, enthusiasm and energy. Coaching leaders are encouraging and empathic. Their approach is "try this." They connect their team members' skills and values and align them with their organization's mission. Their style builds rapport and boosts trust and motivation. But this style likely won't work with employees who either require frequent feedback or simply don't want to learn. The third style, affiliative leadership, builds harmony between people. It emphasizes emotional connections and inclusivity. To use this style, you need to recognize and value your people's different emotional needs. Affiliative leadership works best when there is team tension or conflict, or to motivate people through stressful times. Democratic leaders concentrate on collaboration and ask, "What do you think?" This is best when you need to get your people on board with a new idea, but it's less effective with people who lack knowledge or experience. Pacesetting leadership focuses on performance and achieving goals. They expect excellence from their team and hold everyone to the highest standards. Sometimes they'll even jump in themselves to make sure that targets are met. This can be a successful method for driving high performance. However, if it's used too much, it can also result in burnout and a high staff turnover. So it's best used in short bursts with an experienced and highly-motivated team. Finally, there are commanding leaders. This style relies on issuing orders and exerting control with the often unspoken threat of disciplinary action. Commanding leadership is best suited to bringing in rapid change, handling underperforming employees and dealing with a crisis situation. But, if misused, it can stunt productivity and cause irreparable damage to team morale. If you want to learn more about the six emotional leadership styles read the article, accompanying this video.