Latest / Women at Work: Career, Leadership & Modern Work / How the Closed-Loop Communication Expectation Hurts Women Leaders
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this phrase that's been floating around in leadership coaching circles — 'closed-loop communication.' It sounds like jargon, but it's something every woman in a leadership role has been trained to do, often without realizing it. Luna: I've heard that term in project management contexts — like confirming receipt, following up until something is resolved. Lucas: Exactly. It's the expectation that you don't just send a message — you make sure the other person received it, understood it, and acted on it, and then you confirm that action. In aviation and medicine, it's a safety protocol. In the office, it's become an unspoken requirement — mainly for women. Luna: Why mainly for women? Is there data on that? Lucas: There is. A 2025 study from the University of Michigan tracked communication patterns across 200 managers in a Fortune 500 tech firm. They found that women managers spend an extra three point seven hours per week on what they call 'closure-oriented communications' — those follow-up emails, recap messages, 'just confirming' notes. Men in equivalent roles spent about one point two hours. Luna: That's a three-hour gap every week. Over a year, that's like two extra work weeks — just on follow-ups. Lucas: Right. And the study controlled for team size, seniority, and industry. The gap persisted. The researchers concluded it's not about work style — it's about gendered expectations around reliability. Luna: So women are expected to close the loop more, and if they don't, they're seen as unreliable? But if they do, they're seen as administrative rather than strategic? Lucas: That's the double bind. The same study looked at 360-degree reviews for those managers. Women were forty percent more likely to be described as 'responsive' and 'thorough' — positive traits — but thirty percent less likely to be described as 'strategic' or 'visionary.' Their follow-up diligence was actually crowding out perceptions of their leadership capability. Luna: It's like the more you prove you can be trusted with the details, the less you're trusted with the big picture. Lucas: Exactly. And the expectation is reinforced daily. Think about a typical meeting. A woman leader might send a follow-up email with bullet points, action items, owners, and deadlines. A male colleague might just say 'great meeting' and move on. Who looks more on top of things? Her. But who gets tapped for the high-level strategy session? Often not her. Luna: Because she's already demonstrated she's great at execution. And execution is valuable, but it's also seen as less promotable. Lucas: That's the core of the closed-loop communication tax. It's a form of invisible labor that gets rewarded in praise but not in promotion. And it's sticky — women who try to reduce their follow-up volume sometimes get dinged in reviews for 'lack of attention to detail.' Luna: So what can women actually do? Just keep doing the extra work and hope someone notices their strategy skills? Lucas: I think there are practical moves. One is to batch follow-ups — instead of five separate 'just checking' emails, send one weekly status that covers everything. That still closes the loop but in a more efficient, less piecemeal way. Luna: That also signals that you're thinking at a higher level — you're providing a summary, not just confirming receipt. Lucas: Right. Another strategy is to delegate closure. If you're the leader, you can ask a team member to send the recap. It's not dropping the ball — it's distributing the work. But that requires trust. Luna: And for women who are already perceived as too controlling or micromanaging, delegating might be harder. There's that extra scrutiny. Lucas: There is. And that's where organizational change matters. Companies can start measuring — and rewarding — strategic impact, not just responsiveness. If performance reviews are weighted toward 'responsiveness' and 'follow-through,' women will keep being incentivized to do more of this work. Luna: What about the individual level? Any tactics for women to reset expectations with their boss or team? Lucas: One approach is to explicitly negotiate communication norms. Say something like, 'To be more efficient, I'll send a weekly recap on Fridays instead of individual updates. If something is urgent, please flag it.' That sets a new standard without appearing to drop the ball. Luna: And if the boss pushes back? 'I prefer daily updates'? Lucas: Then you can ask what specifically they need to know. Often, the request for frequent updates is about anxiety, not necessity. If you can surface the real concern, you might find a middle ground. Luna: It's interesting — this feels similar to the note-taking episode we did. Women are asked to take notes more, and that's administrative labor. This is communication labor. Lucas: It's all part of a pattern — women being expected to carry the invisible maintenance work of the organization. The closed-loop expectation is just the communication version of that. Luna: And it's particularly insidious because it's framed as a positive: being thorough, being responsive. It's hard to push back against something that's seen as good. Lucas: Right. Nobody says 'stop being so thorough.' But the cost is real. And we want this show to help people see those costs and make intentional choices. Luna: Speaking of keeping the show going — we've had some listeners ask how we keep Women at Work ad-free. It's a good question. Lucas: It's straightforward, actually. A small group of listeners chips in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That support literally covers the production costs and lets us keep doing deep dives like this one. Luna: If the show has helped you think through a career decision or just feel less alone in some of these dynamics, that's the whole reason we're here. No pressure — just wanted to pull back the curtain. Lucas: Back to the closed-loop tax — one more thing I want to mention. There's a concept called 'strategic non-response.' Sometimes, not following up immediately can actually signal confidence. Luna: That's counterintuitive. How does that work? Lucas: If you respond instantly to every ping, people learn that you're always available. If you sometimes let a non-urgent message sit for a few hours — or even a day — you train people to triage their own requests. It's hard to do, especially for women who fear being seen as unresponsive. Luna: But it might be worth it if it breaks the cycle of being the team's communication crutch. Lucas: Exactly. It's about reclaiming agency over your time. And that's ultimately what this whole conversation is about — recognizing that 'just being thorough' isn't always a neutral choice. It has trade-offs.