If I asked you to rank your top five favorite leadership responsibilities, attending meetings probably would not appear on your list. It's not that some meetings aren't enjoyable; it's just that there are plenty of other activities that leaders find more thrilling, fun, or productive.

That said, there is one kind of meeting that I absolutely love, and that is a creative meeting.

For example, I once spent about four hours in a room with 11 people, doing nothing but talking about books. We discussed how to write better books, and we talked about which topics would add value to people's lives. In the process, we challenged each other. We built on each others' thoughts and ideas. We argued. We laughed.

Now I realize that to some of you, spending four hours brainstorming about books might sound about as exhilarating as watching paint dry. But for me, it was incredibly exciting. By the time I came out of that room, it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. After a marathon meeting like that, a guy my age ought to be getting little tired. But I was charged up and ready to spend the evening writing.

There's just something about meeting with a group of positive, energetic, creative people that stimulates my thoughts and spurs me to greater growth than I would be capable of on my own.

On the other hand, being around negative people—in a meeting, over lunch, at a football game, etc.—just sucks the life right out of me. Talk about a thought buster. Negativity tops the chart when it comes to the forces that can stifle thought, squelch creativity, and shut down idea generation.

We all know people who regularly use phrases such as "it will never work," "I'm never going to be able to get that done," "it's too hard," and "there's no way we can do it." These people don't build us up or encourage our development; they drag us down with their incessant complaining and constant negativity.

If you place a high priority on creative thought, do whatever you can to limit your time with these folks (unless, of course, you're related to one, in which case you'll have to come up with an alternative solution).

On a more positive note, another step you can take to increase your thinking power is to put yourself in a growth environment. If negativity is a powerful thought buster, a growth environment is an even stronger thought booster. Here are eight characteristics of a growth environment:

1. Others are ahead of you. It's a sad day when you discover that, in every group you're in, you're at the top of your class. Such superiority might be good for your ego, but it's not healthy for your mental development.
   
2. You are still challenged. It doesn't matter how young or old you are—if you're bored, you won't grow.
   
3. Your focus is forward. There's nothing wrong with remembering the past, especially if it increases your confidence or helps you to avoid repeating costly mistakes. But growth is impossible if you think your best days are behind you.
   
4. The atmosphere is affirming. Think of how you felt the last time someone affirmed you when you were struggling with a difficult assignment or situation. I'm sure you'll agree that encouragement is a powerful motivator, especially in the midst of challenging circumstances.
   
5. You are out of your comfort zone. It's much easier to stick with what you know, but nobody ever achieved greatness by doing that. This is one of the benefits of working with creative thinkers—they stretch you and force you to look for answers outside your normal frame of reference.
   
6. Failure is not feared. You may be hesitant to venture out of your comfort zone because you're afraid you'll fall flat on your face if you take a risk. But as Henry Ford once said, "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
   
7. Others are growing. Yes, growth can be a group activity. It's often precipitated by less-than-ideal circumstances—increased competition, an economic downturn, the loss of key players, etc. But from a leadership standpoint, few things are more rewarding than watching your team become stronger through adversity.
   
8. There is a willingness to change. In a growth environment, you'll never hear anyone say, "But we've never done it that way before." Not everyone embraces change with the same level of enthusiasm, but people who are committed to growth don't try to run away from it.

If you are not currently working in a growth environment, I encourage you to do what you can to make it one. Take the lead, and others will follow. When it comes to growth, there's definitely a trickle-down effect.

This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's
free monthly e-newsletter: Leadership Wired
available at www.injoy.com.