The Hidden Driver of Generational Conflict at Work

By: Jennifer Franko, Coach, Renogize Professional Coaching

A Millennial leader I recently coached shared her frustration with a Gen Z team member. She leads a large team, carries her own workload, and expected this employee to take more initiative when challenges arose. Instead, he frequently brought problems to her before attempting solutions himself. 

She asked him to research first and return with options. He didn’t. The frustration grew on both sides.  

At first glance, it looked like avoidance. It wasn’t. It was a communication gap shaped by different beliefs about ownership and growth. Let’s take a look... 

As a Millennial, she was shaped in environments of encouragement and reward for showing up. With a focus on individuality, ambition and frequent feedback are big strengths and values. However, with this team member, her intent was to build ownership and capability. The impact on her felt like support was being mistaken for substitution—pulling her back into problem-solving that wasn’t hers to own. 

Gen Z, however, has been shaped in highly coached and feedback-rich environments where access to guidance signals engagement, not weakness. His intent may have been alignment and speed. The impact on him may have felt like being dismissed rather than developed or supported. 

This is what my client learned: intent versus impact created the gap. 

No matter your generation, when leaders rush to label behavior through their own assumptions, conflict hardens. But when we pause to ask what shaped someone’s expectations—and what outcome they were trying to achieve—conflict becomes insight. 

Generational tension rarely comes from competing values. More often, it comes from different assumptions about how those values should show up at work. 

Our role as leaders is not to take sides. Our role is to translate, clarify ownership, and define things such as when collaboration adds value and when independent thinking is required. This is how you model productive conflict in generational tension. 

When we model productive conflict through curiosity and gaining clarity, teams grow stronger. 

Where might friction on your team actually be a communication gap? 

I’ve seen leaders who embrace generational differences turn conflict and tension into fuel—unlocking growth and achieving more together than any one generation could accomplish alone. 

You can, too.