I used to run a labor hire company. I still do in a way (consulting), but at a lower volume. I've managed many offshore developers and other contractors. Becaus

I used to run a labor hire company. I still do in a way (consulting), but at a lower volume. I've managed many offshore developers and other contractors. Because the skill continuum is massive, it took me several failed engagements and a long time to get really good at managing people across it. Nowadays, I can't remember the last time I had an unsuccessful project encounter. There are at least a hundred valuable tips I could give you on how to be a great remote manager but if I had to give one, it would be this: Be a mastermind. Remember first and foremost that variance is your enemy. Give detailed requirements. Hide information to keep your contractor focused. Avoid abstract directives like the plague. Instead, break off an atomic well-defined piece of work and give it to your remote worker to work on over a short time frame. Either do the integration engineering yourself or give that to a highly trusted, proven lieutenant. Iterate. To summarize, until a relationship is well developed, imo micromanagement is basically correct.