Also culture. Seriously don't underestimate culture. In Eastern Europe/Russia "no" means "no" (and is often followed with "why are you asking me to dumb things"

Also culture. Seriously don't underestimate culture. In Eastern Europe/Russia "no" means "no" (and is often followed with "why are you asking me to dumb things" or "are you stupid?". In India, they have 200 different ways of saying "yes", with only a few of them actually meaning something along the lines of getting the things you need done actually done. This isn't a slight, it is simply culture. There are many cultures where saying "no" is rude or offensive. Unfortunately, this is very difficult to translate remotely, and requires a long time of cultural assimilation. I manage a lot of "offshore" staff, and have done for about 10 years now. I'll have the Eastern Europeans/Russians any time, also because frequently the outright or muttered "are you stupid?" is followed by a "here is how you should do this", which many times turns out to be a good way doing what I want done. My team can call me stupid as much as they like, if it results in a better product/service.