8 Pieces of Professional Wisdom from Courtney Banks Spaeth, a Trailblazing CEO in the field of National Security

Moving through the ranks to the senior executive level can require navigating political landmines, especially in the slow-to-change world of national security. Courtney Banks Spaeth is one woman who can claim victory, and she’s got strategic advice for everyone in the trenches, even us civilians.

BY MELISSA BRAZIER
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A beautiful woman with long, fiery red hair, makeup done, wearing a perfect little black dress, heels and all the right accessories. That’s Courtney Banks Spaeth on a regular day. Hers is not the uniform of most who have held the title of director and corporate vice-president in the undeniably male world of national security, but over nearly two decades, she may be clearing the way for a new normal.

“I was always interested in national security,” says Banks Spaeth, CEO of NSAWW, a company she built and that offers business development consulting services to clients in national security, IT, health, sports and more. “When I was in the third grade, there was a mini-series on TV called The Winds of War…”

The show covered the fictitious Henry family and WWII—military campaigns in Europe and the Pacific; the plight of Jewish people during the Holocaust; the development of the atom bomb; the politics of the Allied nations… While other kids were spellbound by superheroes, “I became captivated with the idea of
working with the military—the altruism and the idea of serving something larger than myself appealed to me,” explains the now 40-year-old Banks Spaeth.

That little third grader went on to earn a BA, with honours, in Military History from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s in National Security Studies from Georgetown University before climbing the ranks in national security, including stints at the White House under Bill Clinton.

Defense companies in the early millennium were still dominated by men, more specifically, older retired military. “The culture back then was still geared towards your rank in the military, or what military academy you went to, as a way of relating to each other at the management level,” says Banks Spaeth. “And, as a woman who didn’t choose to attend the military academies or join the service—though many women do this quite successfully, of course—you’re overcoming many things. There was a glass ceiling, and I butted my head against it. I definitely think I smacked my head more than I cracked it for women in that moment,” she says.

Her advice to women who aren’t being treated equally in the workplace is simple: “if you can’t fix it, don’t break yourself trying.” Meaning that if you’ve done your job well and have good management, speak up and bring evidence. “And if they don’t correct it, understand that your role that day may not be to change the environment, but to take yourself to a different environment.” One conversation with this powerhouse unearthed seven other pieces of professional wisdom. Caution: they aren’t for the feint of heart.

Remember: “Confidence is tied to competence, arrogance is tied to insecurity.”
So…? Know what you’re doing, because you must be confident enough to raise your hand and articulate your position—and also courageous enough to stay quiet. “Silence is a very powerful weapon, but people don’t know how to use it properly. Whether you’re a woman in an all-male environment or not, if you have nothing of value to add and you don’t know what to say, say nothing. No one can ever criticize you for being quiet.”

Know that: “Your support system is outside of work.”
In any workplace, especially one that is mostly male, Banks Spaeth stresses the importance of creating a life outside of the 9-to-5. “Coworkers aren’t at work to be your friend, so don’t share personal
stuff and don’t cry with them,” she says.

Always: “View other women as natural allies.”
If the other women in the room are competent and ethical, don’t position them as competition. Banks Spaeth prefers to see it this way: “If there’s two of you in the room, that doesn’t mean you should be vying for one seat at the table. It means you should be reinforcing each other, so if a seat has to go, it’s not one of yours—it’s one of the men’s.”

You must: “Be yourself and give answers that are thorough, complete and competent.”
When she took the VP role at Raytheon Company, Banks Spaeth was one of only a few women in senior management. “Some women have sacrificed their femininity and identity to survive. Unfortunately, I’m not a survivor, I’m a leader,” she says, “and sometimes leading means failing, and I failed to adapt to some of the cultures I’ve been in. To some people that means I’m a failure, to some that means I’m a leader, to me it just means I am myself.”

Stay: “equally human with everyone—regardless of their title.”
Banks Spaeth always sat in the conference room, in order to be more approachable to her staff. “I think bosses make themselves inaccessible when they sit behind a big desk in a room with the door closed. You become intimidating.” Bosses must avoid power tripping. “When you make decisions, don’t be capricious about them. Give thought to the fact that you don’t have to like your employees, but they’re people with families and responsibilities, much of which you will never have a window into,” she says.

Operation Advancement started in 1996 with the job of intern…

Mission accomplished in 2007 with the title of owner. These are some of the other offices Courtney Banks Spaeth worked in along the way.

• Office of the Head Counsel to the President of the United States—intern.
• Department of Justice—Outstanding Federal Scholar Program, Anti-Trust Criminal Litigation Division.
• Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Special Operations Low-Intensity Conflict.
• Manager, Lockheed Martin, a fortune 100 defense company. Banks Spaeth, then in her late 20s, was promoted to Director of Homeland Systems Solutions Business Development where she worked on several
billion-dollar-plus programs. While there, she was the only winner of the Lockheed Martin Systems Management Exceptional Service Award.
• Raytheon (another fortune 100 defense company), Vice-President, Homeland Security Worldwide. Here, Banks Spaeth was in charge of the company’s homeland security, homeland defense, law enforcement and international security strategy.
• CEO, NSAWW, 2007.

Courtney Banks Spaeth was a guest at our Senior Executive Dinner Series in Washington.

For more information on our Senior Executive Dinner Series click here.