94 Fundamentals Confidentiality in the workplace It is essential that no reporting back takes place, in either specific or broad terms, without the explicit agreement of the coachee. If there is any suspicion that this may happen, the coachee will not be able to achieve the inner focus required to benefit from the coaching. External one-to-one coaches are effective partly because their coachees feel that the confidentially factor is more secure than with a coach who works for the same organization. Therefore it is equally important that external coaches are not expected to divulge any detailed information about the content of the coaching. The organization will need some criteria for measuring whether it is getting value for money, and this is discussed later in this chapter under the heading `Measurement in workplace coaching'. It is also essential that the coach does not have any ulterior agenda. Coaches must not be asked to lead their coachees towards any particular outcome; let us remember that the essence of coaching is `self-directed learning'. Paradoxically, an organization will normally have a reason for introducing coaching, and may have overall goals towards which coaching is a strategy; the organization should be open about these to both coach and coachee. It is the coachee's own goals, strategies and experiences within the