The Journey Node

Yesterday, our founder Thao Nguyen was invited as a guest speaker to join Dr. Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova, Dr Narayan Bhattarai, FHEA, CMBE,UKCGE Recognised ARS and Dr Abi (Abimbola) Dada, AFHEA for the first University of the West of Scotland Enterprise and Innovation Lab's Idea Spark Session at the UWS - London Campus.
The session brought together a fantastic group of students to explore, challenge, and develop their business ideas from the ground up - in a world where AI is reshaping what's possible faster than ever before.
But this was about far more than just building an idea.
It was an opportunity for students to sharpen the transferable skills that will define their futures - communication, pitching, critical thinking and self-awareness.
Watching students step into that process, challenge their own assumptions, and begin to see themselves as future entrepreneurs was genuinely inspiring.
More sessions to come. Watch this space. 🚀

One of the most powerful life skills we can develop? Learning to recognise our own achievements - and actually say them out loud, without shrinking, without apologising.

The workshop from Rmrkblty is a brilliant opportunity to do exactly that.

is a global movement that empowers everyone, including underrepresented groups, to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond, while challenging the social perception around self-promotion.

During this 90-minute workshop you will:
● Reflect on your own limiting beliefs on self-promotion.
● Explore what the research actually says about self-promotion and bias.
● Go through the main exercise to help you identify and share your achievements.
● Wrap up with discussion and take home exercises.

Upcoming session with Monique Ho and Irene Caprì:
📅 Wednesday 10 June 2026
🕗 08:00 – 09:30 UK Time
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCZwBxvr

Meet our guest speakers and host joining us at Career Level Up – our upcoming hybrid event this June!
📍 London + Online
📅 Saturday 20 June 2026, 1–6pm

​​✨ Our special guest speaker: Purnima Pratap, Managing Director at Accenture
Purnima is UKI Financial Services Transformation and Delivery Excellence Lead at Accenture – shaping and executing IT transformation programmes for global C-suite executives in Financial Services, often with annual spend in excess of $500m and 3,000+ resources.
With 22 years at Accenture across London, New York, Spain and India, she has partnered with leading global banks, insurers and FinTech organisations – driven by curiosity for new technology and how it can positively impact people and customers.
From an ethnic-minority background herself, she is part of Women in Tech leadership and the BAME Engage programme – building career tracks so the next generation can rise without apology.

​​✨ Our Host: Ellen Nguyen
​Community builder, Director in Financial Services, host of the Landed podcast, and author of How You Heal in Your 20s. Ellen moved to the UK from Vietnam to study, and over the past decade, she has built an abundant life and thriving career at Mastercard, J.P. Morgan, alongside a community of 40K+ across Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

​​✨ Our coach Natasha Neeson, Executive Communication & Career Coach
Natasha is an Executive Communication & Career Coach helping senior leaders and teams communicate with clarity, confidence and impact. Drawing on behavioural psychology and 20 years in live television, she has coached professionals from companies such as Google, BlackRock, Amazon, PwC, Monzo, the Bank of England, Workday, University of Oxford, and Boots to craft clear, persuasive messages, build authentic presence, and perform with confidence in high-stakes situations. She focuses on strengthening leadership presence, influencing decisions, and driving stronger organisational outcomes.

✨ Who this event is for
💬 ​Women who want the real conversation, with peers who get it, and senior women who've lived it
🌍 Early and mid-career professional women from immigrant, ethnic minority, or other underrepresented backgrounds who are looking to progress in their careers

👉 SIGN UP: https://luma.com/jd2q5l6t?utm_source=thejourneynode

What to Expect at Our Upcoming Event: Career Level Up for Immigrant Women in Corporate UK?

💡The Unspoken Rules of Climbing the Corporate Ladder for women as immigrants, ethnic minorities, or from other underrepresented backgrounds

🌟 How to level up - get seen, recognised, promoted, and rewarded for what you are worth in corporate UK!

🎟️ SIGN UP: https://luma.com/jd2q5l6t?utm_source=thejourneynode

🎤 Fireside with Purnima Pratap, Managing Director at Accenture — a candid conversation about what it actually takes to climb. What gets people promoted, what holds women like us back, the unspoken politics of senior careers, and what she wishes someone had told her earlier.

💬 Peer discussion led by Ellen Nguyen — she will share lessons from her unconventional journey to Director level in financial services. The room shares what we’ve been noticing, sitting with, getting stuck on.

🎭 Live coaching with executive coach Natasha Neeson — role-plays of the hardest conversations: asking for a promotion, negotiating salary, asking for sponsorship, pushing back when credit is taken, navigating a pivot.

✨ Connection in a beautiful space — an intentional room of women navigating similar things.

➕ Optional extended session — smaller group, deeper coaching with Ellen and Natasha.

This is for early- and mid-career immigrant women progressing in corporate UK.

Director-level women looking for peers.

If you’ve been noticing the gap between what career advice promises and what actually happens — come.

📍 London + livestream

📅 Saturday 20 June 2026, 1–6pm

💷 Early bird ends on 27 May

We had a wonderful time at Accenture last week! 🙌
Our coach Natasha Neeson explored what it takes to land your message when the critical moments come. Thank you to Monique Ho and Cheng Li for the warm welcome. A huge kudos to them for investing in their colleagues by driving the wellness and inclusion agenda in the Technology Strategy and Transformation offering area.

As AI takes on more of the technical and analytical work, the skills that set people apart are increasingly human ones. And yet powerful communication is something most of us learn on the job, without ever being formally taught. That leads to a lot of value leakage. Talented, capable people who are ready for the next step — missing out on promotions, losing the room in critical conversations, or simply not getting the visibility their work deserves. Not because of what they know, but because of how it lands.

Life skills are too often overlooked, and that gap is exactly where we work.
If you're ready to invest in life skills for your people, we'd love to talk. Communication is just one of the topics we cover.
👉 Explore our workplace programmes: https://thejourneynode.com/for-corporates
👉 Upcoming event on 20 June - Career Level Up for Women from Underrepresented Groups in Corporate UK: https://luma.com/jd2q5l6t?utm_source=thejourneynode

Something special is coming this JUNE ☀️
We're co-hosting Career Level Up with Ellen Nguyen — Director in Financial Services, host of the Landed podcast, and author of How You Heal in Your 20s.
Ellen moved to the UK from Vietnam to study, and over the past decade has built an abundant life and thriving career at Mastercard and J.P. Morgan — alongside a community of 40K+ across Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn. She founded Landed Community — a space for immigrant women navigating careers, relationships, the inner and outer work of building a life that's actually theirs — and this event is exactly that spirit in a room.

Our Coach Natasha Neeson — an Executive Communication & Career Coach, will be there leading live, practical coaching on the hardest conversations: asking for a promotion, negotiating salary, asking for sponsorship, pushing back when credit is taken, navigating a pivot. Drawing on behavioural psychology and 20 years in live television, she has coached professionals from companies such as Google, BlackRock, Amazon, PwC, Monzo, the Bank of England, Workday, University of Oxford, and Boots to craft clear, persuasive messages, build authentic presence, and perform with confidence in high-stakes situations. She focuses on strengthening leadership presence, influencing decisions, and driving stronger organisational outcomes.

🐦 Early bird tickets open until 27th May.
20 June · Central London · In-person & Online.

🔗 Grab your ticket: https://luma.com/jd2q5l6t?utm_source=thejourneynode

🗣️𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 — how you’re perceived at work, how you show up in relationships, and how much of your potential the world actually gets to see.
If you’ve ever left a meeting wishing you’d said more. Stayed quiet when you had something valuable to say. Or felt overlooked despite everything you bring to the table — this is for you.

Explore our Communication Programmes for every stage of your journey:
🌟 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲
Stop being the person who’s overlooked — 4 weeks to become someone people listen to, remember, and respect.
👉See details: https://stan.store/thejourneynode/p/the-confident-communicator-blueprint-programme

🎤 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀
Stop shrinking, start owning the room — in just 90 minutes you’ll have the tools to speak with confidence and leave a lasting impression.
👉See details: https://stan.store/thejourneynode/p/in-the-spotlight-speak-with-impact-masterclass

🚀𝗕𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝟭:𝟭 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Big presentation? Difficult conversation? Get personalised coaching so you show up ready, not rattled.
👉See details: https://stan.store/thejourneynode/p/11-speak-with-impact-intensive

🏆 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝟭:𝟭 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲
If you’re tired of not being heard — 5 personalised sessions to transform the way you communicate at work, and in life.
👉See details: https://stan.store/thejourneynode/p/11-communication-breakthrough-programme-

Your voice matters. It’s time the world heard it. Which programme speaks to you? 👇

Most people are out there figuring life out alone — navigating career decisions, self-doubt, big transitions — with no real space to talk about it honestly.

That’s exactly why The Journey Node exists.
A community where ambitious professionals come to grow — not just professionally, but as people. Real conversations, real skills, real relationships with people who get it.

Here’s what you get when you join:
✅ A growing network of 100+ professionals across industries and nationalities
✅ Life skills that school and work never taught you
✅ A safe, judgement-free space to be yourself
✅ People who see you, hear you and push you forward
The right community changes everything.
👉 Join us here: https://stan.store/thejourneynode/p/join-the-journey-node-community-

And our Summer 2026 events for the community? 👀 You do NOT want to miss out. Follow us for updates! 🙌