Hanna Spegel

Hanna joined dwarfs and Giants in early 2017. From summer 2022-2023, she is on parental leave. She is mainly responsible for communication & events. Previously, she worked in both classical contexts (Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, ORF/radio FM4, advertising agencies) as well as within self-organized community and media projects. When it comes to self-organization, she is particularly interested in self-responsibility: The tension between “owning your shit” and spaces in the organization to solve tensions.

What is the main focus of your work at dwarfs and Giants?

• Communication & brand development in the circle @Brand Movement
• Everything digital like content strategy, social media, website, newsletter, etc.
• Organizing and hosting events, workshops and trainings
• Turning our co-working space into a jungle with lots of #Plantlove

What have been your most important learning experiences?

Jumping into self-organization after 15 years in classical organizational structures!

The mentoring process with my colleague Anna Wohlesser, the coaching curriculum by Neuwaldegg, a learning lab about “Audience Engagement” at fjum (forum for journalism and media), a study term in Halifax, Canada, trainings in group-dynamics, a degree in online marketing, and numerous training courses in the fields of communication like PR, media training, conflict resolution etc. during my school years, which all sparked my fire for a future career in communications.

What was a highlight of your work for dwarfs and Giants or in a client project?  

I started at dwarfs and Giants in 2017. The role setup in the area of communication was not yet very differentiated at the time. After a few weeks of unclarity, I had a sudden realization during the Holacracy practitioner training: I can adapt, change and create these roles myself! So I submitted a multi-page proposal at the next Governance meeting of the circle @Brand Movement, and it was accepted after clarifying questions, reactions, etc. A great moment of self-empowerment that I had not experienced in classical organizations. Since then, I have been a great enthusiast of integrative decision-making processes.