It’s an easy miss

Emotionally intelligent people don’t make others feel bad for their mistakes. Instead, they make it emotionally easy.  

What do I mean by emotionally easy?

How would you feel if someone (especially someone with power over you) said, “I can’t believe you made this mistake. You need to fix it right now!”

What if they said, “It’s easy to miss,” or “I did the same thing once, or “Things happen,” or some other response that signals you’re aware of their emotions?

Starting by deflating the pressure suggests there’s no issue of moral failing or superiority.

I’m not saying you should let them off the hook. 

You can hold people accountable without suggesting they should feel terrible about themselves. As with: “Mistakes happen, but the consequences of this are… What will you do to make it right?”