We think you're lucky to have the opportunity to work with a coach and an employer who has the wisdom and confidence to offer this benefit. The practice of working with a coach is becoming a welcome tool to help executives and others reach their highest performance level and full potential.

From where we sit, there only will be an up side if you choose to work with a coach. The process of coaching involves a continuing collaborative partnership built on taking action. A coach can offer you feedback, insight and guidance from an outside perspective. A good one should help you achieve more than you would on your own by providing a sense of accountability. You can expect a coach to offer structure and objectivity as well as suggestions and resources. Most people who work with coaches report they feel more balanced and fulfilled, not just in their jobs but also in their lives in general.

Having said that, coaching won't help much if you're not ready to reach your career goals and improve your performance. You have to do the necessary work. If you aren't open to new ideas that help facilitate change, you won't benefit from the coaching relationship much. Finally, don't expect a coach to deal with deeply rooted problems or depression; a therapist would be the professional needed should that be the case.

As for your concern about privacy, any professional coach is duty bound to honor the confidentiality of the relationship. He or she would never speak without your permission to others about the work you do together; it would be a breach of ethics. So put your mind at rest on that score.

If you want to read something on this subject, we suggest "Coaching for Leadership: How the World's Greatest Coaches Help Leaders Learn" edited by Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence Lyons and Alyssa Freas (Jossey-Bass, 2000). While the book is directed more at those working in the coaching profession, it offers interesting articles by different authors that will help inform you about what coaches can and should do for their clients.