Shedding is an emerging concept often accompanying new change management and agile learning and leadership approaches. As reptiles grow by shedding their skin, leaders and organizations also grow by shedding their old ways of thinking, dated management practices, and irrelevant operational systems and processes.

According to author, speaker, and change expert Kathy Dempsey, president of Keep Shedding! Inc., shedding encompasses two major tenets: letting go of the old, or those things that are unhealthy and no longer serving you; and taking on the new skills, knowledge, and healthy habits that will help you continue to grow.

Another company that emphasizes shedding in its leadership development philosophy, K. Taylor and Associates, develops leaders who are able to continuously adapt and adjust, thereby leading organizations that remain healthy and vital even in the midst of a difficult business environment. The company offers practical ways you can "lighten your load" by shedding

• the belief that you should have all of the answers

• work that adds little or no value to your customers

• time spent on improving your

  areas of weaknesses

• over-reliance on other people's points of view

• the notion that you don't have time to take care of yourself.

For more ideas to lighten your load, visit www.ktaylorandassoc.com/shedding.