Successful mentors seem to understand and appreciate their mentees, entering their worlds to uncover their unique strengths and capabilities. This sort of empathy and sensitivity goes a long way toward facilitating close relationships, as does the mentee's willingness to fully engage in the mentoring experience. And, since initial resistances may be strong, and trust and understanding tend to deepen with time, successful relationships also require consistency and persistence. The author of this report describes a range of factors that can facilitate the formation of close, enduring, and, ultimately, effective mentor-youth ties. The report concludes that every mentoring relationship is a unique blend of experiences, personalities, and circumstances of both mentor and mentee. Success requires motivation, commitment, and flexibility on the part of both. The article is followed by suggestions on how practitioners can incorporate the research findings into mentoring programs and a list of additional resources. [The 10-issue "Research in Action" series, edited by Jean E. Rhodes, is the initial project of the MENTOR Research and Policy Council, charged with taking current mentoring research and translating it into useful, user-friendly materials for mentoring practitioners. For full series, see ED502220 through ED502229, inclusive.]