Mutual respect, clear expectations, personal connections and shared values are key for healthy mentoring, finds a study in Academic Medicine (S. E. Straus et al. Academic Med. http://doi.org/jzc; 2012). Interviews with 54 medical-school faculty members at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Toronto in Canada showed that relationships fail because of poor communication, personality clashes or lack of mentoring experience. The best mentors are trustworthy, listen well, help to set goals and have accessible networks. Co-author Mitchell Feldman, a professor of medicine at UCSF, says that trainees should set agendas for mentoring sessions and update their own development plans.