Each person who works in a company has an expectation of their manager whether they consciously think about it or not. Most of the time the expectations from either side aren’t even discussed. The manager most likely leads each person on their team in the same way without thinking about it. The employee doesn’t talk about their own expectations and adapts to the style of the manager in the best way that they can.
Each generation has different expectations of their managers. If the employee is from the same generation then the expectations are most likely met, but having a conversation to confirm it would be a good thing to do. If the generations are different and the manager isn’t having a conversation about what the employee needs, then that is where conflict can occur.
What is the employee expecting from the manager in terms of communication, feedback, recognition(public or private), support, motivation, development, etc? The manager can also share information about what is expected of an employee to have a two way conversation on how best to work together. Each generation will care about different things and it is good to get it out in the open. There may also be differences for individuals within a generation that need to be clarified.
Managers who have employees from different generations should make time to have a conversation about expectations. It is good to have these type of conversations early on in a working relationship and create agreements to eliminate assumptions and frustration in the long term.