Spela Trefalt

Education

• D.B.A., Harvard Business School;
• M.B.A., University of Kansas;
• B.A., Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

I joined Simmons faculty in 2008, after earning a D.B.A. in Management from the Harvard Business School, an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas, and a B.A. in Law from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Prior to my academic career, I spent six years as a human resources management consultant, and eight years working in the media in Slovenia.

I study how professionals manage the demands of work and life outside of work, with particular emphasis on the role of interpersonal relationships in this process. I focus on what enables them to thrive in the context of extremely high work demands and desires for meaningful involvement in other aspects of life. My research appears in academic journals such Academy of Management Journal, European Management Journal, Management Research, Journal of Management Education, and others; in books such as Handbook of Innovative Qualitative Research, and Expanding Boundaries of Work-Family Research, and in other outlets, such as CGO Insights and Management Magazine. I am a member of the Academy of Management, a founding member of the Work-Family Researchers Network, and a faculty affiliate of the Center of Gender in Organizations.

I also serve as an executive coach. I work with professionals who want to grow as leaders, who seek more meaning in their work and more work-life balance. I am certified by the International Coaching Federation and a member of Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School Affiliate.

When I am not working, I love spending time with my husband and two daughters, playing the saxophone, dancing, and enjoying all things delicious.

What I Teach

Graduate Classes

• MBAO 455 Leading Individuals and Groups
• MBAO 465 Leading Organizational Change
• MBAOI 490 Women's Leadership Immersion
  

Undergraduate Classes

• MGMT 222 Human Resources Management
• MGMT 395 General Management Capstone

Executive Education

• Strategic Networking
• Peer Coaching
• Leading Organizational Change
• Coaching

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications and Chapters

Trefalt, Š., & Besharov, M. H.-P. 2016. “The journey from data to a qualitative inductive paper: Who helps and how?” In K. D. Elsbach & R. M. Kramer (Eds.), Handbook of innovative qualitative research:401-410. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Las Heras, M., Trefalt, Š., & Escribano, P. I. [equal authors]. 2015. “How national context moderates the impact of family-supportive supervisory behavior on job performance and turnover intentions.” Management Research. The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, 13(1), 55-82. 2016 Outstanding Paper Award

Trefalt, Š. 2014. “How network properties affect one's ability to obtain benefits: A network simulation.” Journal of Management Education, 38, 672-700.

Trefalt, Š. 2013. “Between you and me: Setting work-nonwork boundaries in the context of workplace relationships.” Academy of Management Journal, 56, 1802-1829.

Trefalt, Š., Drnovšek, M., Svetina-Nabergoj, A., & Adlešič, R. 2013. “Work-life experiences in rapidly changing national contexts: Structural misalignment, comparisons and choice overload as explanatory mechanisms.” European Management Journal, 31, 448-463. Finalist: 2014 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research

Trefalt, Š. 2012. “Fairly Flexible: Preventing perceptions of unfairness in enactment of workplace flexibility.” In Steven Poelmans, Jeffrey Greenhaus and Mireia Las Heras Maestro (Eds.) Expanding boundaries of work-family research: A vision for the future. Palgrave Macmillan.

Trefalt, Š. 2011. “Integrating Giving Voice To Values across the MBA Curriculum: The Case of Simmons School of Management.” Journal of Business Ethics Education, 8, 326-331.

Adkins, C., Gentile, M. C., Ingols, C., & Trefalt, Š. [equal authors] 2011. “Teaching 'How'—not 'Whether'—to Manage with Integrity: Undergraduate and MBA Applications of the 'Giving Voice To Values' Curriculum.” In Agatha Stachowicz-Stanusch & Charles Wankel (Eds.), Management Education for Integrity (pp. 107-133). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.

Trefalt, Š. 2010. “Interpersonal aspects of justice in workplace flexibility enactment.” In S. Sweet, & J. Casey (Eds.), Work and family encyclopedia. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

Trefalt, Š. 2010. “In good standing & standing your ground: Preserving relationships in workplace flexibility enactment.” In Leslie A. Toombs (Ed.), Best Papers Proceedings of the Seventieth Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (CD), ISSN 1543-8643.

Trefalt, Š., & Perlow, L. 2005. “Learning from women who make it work: A call for dynamic flexibility.” In K. D. Elsbach (Ed.), Qualitative Organizational Research: Best Papers from the Davis Conference on Qualitative Research: 227-251. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, Inc.