
Unclear Responsibilities: Who Actually Makes the Decisions?
Approval from one person, rejection from another. Agree who reviews, who approves, and who has the final say before work starts.
You finish a module and share it with the client. They say it looks good and ask you to continue. A few weeks later, someone else reviews the work and says it isn’t what they expected.
You make the changes, but another person raises different concerns. The project moves forward, yet nobody seems to have the final say.
Now you’re spending time resolving disagreements instead of moving the project towards completion. The problem? Nobody clearly defined who is responsible for what.
Before starting a freelance project, it’s important to understand the people involved and their responsibilities.
Who provides the requirements? Who makes the final decisions? Who reviews and approves each module? Who gives the final sign-off? Who approves payments? Who communicates changes and feedback?
When these responsibilities aren’t clear, approvals get delayed, decisions conflict, and completed work can suddenly become a point of disagreement.
These situations create unnecessary frustration for both freelancers and clients. Before starting the project, agree on who will be involved, what each person is responsible for, and who has the authority to make decisions.
Most importantly, identify who has the final say on approvals and sign-offs. Share your unclear-responsibility experiences in the comments. Let’s discuss them and learn from each other.
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