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I find the word “challenge,” well, challenging!

It is both a noun and a verb.

It’s origin, from Latin through Middle English, had a decidedly negative connotation – to accuse, claim, demand, question. Over time, the meaning has softened to include interpretations such as “a difficult but potentially rewarding test of capability.”

In our personal lives, we often see challenges as things that need to be overcome, and when they are, we look back with pride at what we accomplished. This leans more into the modern definition.

In our workplaces, leaders sometimes harken back to the older meaning when they suggest their ideas are “open to challenge” or that employees should “challenge their assumptions.”

For some people, a challenge can represent potential for growth, engagement, and possibility; for others, challenge can evoke feelings of threat, uncertainty, and conflict.

Increasingly, organizations use “challenge” as a synonym for “problem,” which diverges from both the older and newer formal definitions, and can result in confusion, mistrust, and exhaustion.

Broadly speaking, problems are conditions that should not exist, so organizations look for solutions to eliminate them. Challenges, though, are conditions that may not be fully resolved but skillfully navigated. In leadership literature, distinctions exist between “technical problems” and “adaptive challenges,” and the difference is not merely semantic.

When everything becomes a challenge, organizations may unintentionally emphasize endurance over improvement. Likewise, if everything is a problem to solve, simplification, control, or standardization may become norms rather than innovation or learning.

Not all problems are challenges. Many challenges have aspects that are problems. Clarifying which is dominant in each situation can meaningfully impact how people respond. And, with adequate support, people certainly can “rise to the challenge.”

My challenge to you is to avoid using the words “challenge” and “problem” interchangeably. Instead, think positively and proactively about the opportunities before you and what you want to achieve. Then, as you set your path, determine what potholes (problems) you may need to fix along the way and what detours (challenges) you may need to navigate to reach your desired destination.