Private Managers of Associations

It has been suggested that a new thread be started to address experiences of HOA using a Single Private Manager. I don't know quite how to separate or name a person that ends up as a manager of an association. He/she is given the Title" manager", and somewhere in the past has been hired by a Board to "Manage." Fundamentally I suppose you can say the work for the Board as an employee, but I suspect in many cases it amounts to much more than that and control shifts from the Board to the "manager" and over time the "manager" ends up with power that should not exert, because they have no authority. A professional Manager, could be a Management Company Employee with some or no credentials or it could be a higher qualified property manager with a list of credentials.

So can we discuss our experiences with just the "managers" that happen to be in the position because someone thought they could do the job. I wonder how many associations have a "manager" that falls in that category, and has the experience been good or bad?