Many projects that I've been on were managed by contract /consultant PMs. Upper management wanted people who had no allegiance or favorites towards anyone, and who could also act as a hatchet person to an employee that wasn't getting the job done. The employees had mixed feeling about this mindset, but I can understand the political and cultural reasons why. It's easier to have a neutral person be involved in removing someone off of the project, or trying to work with users that has no prior history with them. Consultants seem to bear more authority or experience in the eyes of management (even though this may not be true). How many of you have seen this sort of thing in your department, no matter whether it was functional or technical? Let's talk about the office junk, politics, and other things that get in the way of project efforts - and there are many things. So, what can we learn from this, and how can we make improvements?