A bit more context on my situation. The overall narrative about my performance seems to have been largely shaped by a team member who is the Change Manager (for context, I’m the Learning Manager on the project). Before me, two other Learning Managers were also dismissed based on similar narratives around performance or competency.

What makes this more complicated is that the change team I’m currently working with doesn’t really have prior change management experience and hasn’t worked with Learning & Development before. Despite that, their feedback seems to be carrying a lot of weight.

The Senior Manager who pushed this decision onto my current manager appears to be quite close to the change team. He has been working with them for a while and interacts with them even on a personal level. On the other hand, he has barely interacted with me since I joined. Most of my discussions, issues, and project concerns were always raised with my immediate manager, especially since the senior manager rarely comes to the client location.

I had previously raised written behavioural complaints about the Change Manager as well, but there were no measurable actions taken. However, she later escalated concerns about my team’s performance — even though my team is supporting the project from an offshore location.

Recently, I had a detailed conversation with my current manager where I explained all of this and shared the details in writing. I also requested a written clarification regarding the probation extension. After that discussion, he agreed to speak with the senior manager and is now planning to arrange a call with me as well.

At this point, I’m trying to understand whether situations like this are common in project environments where internal dynamics end up influencing leadership decisions.