@georgetakei My rules as supervisor:
1. Praise in public, criticize in private.
2. If you can't say anyhting nice, don't say anyrhing.
3. If you can express a negative in positive way, don't say it.
4. Always open conversation with question seeking to understand.

When I supervised field operations field people (spent 13 years as one myself) and someone screwed up, my first statement with them was, "Well, it wasn't the brightest thing you done in your career, and it won't be the last. I've been there done that. Now what's the plan to get everything working again?"