Long ago, in a professional role, I was ridiculed and challenged by an administrator. The administrator did not have a solid grounding and often changed his point of view depending on who he was talking to--he was a pleaser who didn't want to make anyone upset, but with his waffling attitude and action, he unintentionally caused a lot of pain. I can empathize with the administrator because he was in a tough, no-win situation that led to this behavior, but in hindsight, I wish I was more aware of this at the time as I wouldn't have trusted this administrator as I did, and I wouldn't have shared as many of my truths and questions with him--I would have been a much more reserved employee.
In a sense, this administrator's actions both ridiculed and challenged me. In every role in life, we are sometimes ridiculed and challenged, and this happens for many reasons. We too may ridicule and challenge others in unproductive ways from time to time, and this is never good. How do we deal with this when it happens to us, and how do we prevent ourselves from ridiculing and challenging others.
I think it's important to build trust and engage in honest dialogue to solve problems and forward the best. That, to me, is one way to prevent ridicule and challenge we may receive or promote. Onward.