How different are these words? What reaction do you get when you ‘invite’ someone join you in a task? When you ‘encourage’ a colleague to try just one more time? or when you ‘challenge’ someone to stretch their abilities?
Are these words interchangeable? What is the response when you ‘challenge’ someone without knowing them very well? I spoke with someone today and they relayed a story about this exact thing…. He felt he had to build a solid relationship before he could ‘challenge’ a client to take that next step.
There are some people that will rise to your ‘challenge’ just to prove they can do it and/or prove you underestimated them. Others will react negatively to that, yet not disappoint you when you ‘encourage’ or ‘invite’ them.
It’s not what you said, it’s what they think they heard.
