Making Space to Reset: Building Real Resilience in Public Service

Dr. Aditi Nerurkar’s Grounded Approach to Stress and Burnout at the APEX Leadership Summit

July 8, 2025

As a proud sponsor of the 2025 APEX Leadership Summit, the Institute on Governance (IOG) was pleased to join senior public servants and thought leaders from across Canada in meaningful conversations about the future of leadership in the public sector. IOG hosted a booth to connect with attendees about our Advisory services and Learning programs, and discuss the tools and strategies that support effective, inclusive, and forward-thinking governance.

Among the summit’s many impactful sessions, the closing keynote by Dr. Aditi Nerurkar—a Harvard physician and expert on stress, resilience, and burnout—stood out as a powerful and timely message for leaders navigating the complex demands of modern public service. Moderated by Christiane Fox, Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet, the keynote delivered actionable, evidence-based approaches to help leaders reset their relationship with stress and build sustainable resilience.

Shattering Misconceptions About Resilience

Dr. Nerurkar opened with a deeply personal story from her days as a medical resident working 80-hour weeks caring for others but not herself. When she began experiencing troubling symptoms, her doctor told her, “It’s probably just stress.” That word—just—betrays a widespread misunderstanding of stress. In high-performing environments like public service leadership, we often cling to what Dr. Nerurkar calls the Resilience Myth: the belief that truly resilient people don’t get stressed or burned out. We are told that “pressure makes diamonds,” and that our success means we are immune to exhaustion.

Real resilience, she explained, is not about powering through. It’s about honoring boundaries, recognizing human limitations, saying no when necessary. It’s about practicing self-compassion.

Not All Stress Is Created Equal

According to Dr. Nerurkar, not all stress is bad. Healthy or adaptive stress, such as preparing for a big presentation or welcoming a new child can motivate and move us forward While stress that results from chronic and unresolved pressure erodes well-being over time.

In stressful situations, the amygdala—the region of our brain that focuses on survival—initiates the fight-flight-or-freeze system. The same system that once protected cave-dwellers from predators now kicks in when we’re facing tight deadlines, juggling parenting, or drowning in notifications. When our amygdala takes over, our prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and decision-making, takes a back seat. The long-term activation of the stress response can lead to a variety of negative impacts on our health including but not limited to anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, heart disease, muscle tension, sleep problems, and weight gain.

The Brain’s Capacity for Change—and the Power of Reset

While the effects of chronic stress are real, so is the brain’s capacity to adapt. Thanks to neuroplasticity, we know the brain can rewire itself through intentional practices. Stress management, Dr. Nerurkar said, is not an innate trait—it’s a skill we can learn.

Her keynote highlighted her “5 Resets” framework—simple, neuroscience-informed habits that can help leaders actively reduce stress and build resilience:

1. Monotasking Over Multitasking

Multitasking is a myth. Our brains perform best when we focus on one task at a time. Monotasking not only enhances productivity but also calms the nervous system and increases clarity.

2. Digital Boundaries and Media Diets

In an age of endless scrolling and digital overstimulation, it’s vital to protect our mental space. Setting media boundaries—including techniques like switching your phone to grayscale—can reduce dopamine-driven engagement, support mental clarity, and combat tech-induced stress.

Dr. Nerurkar explained that when we’re stressed, we instinctively scroll to detect threats—just as our ancestors scanned the horizon for danger. But now, our brains cannot distinguish between far-off crises and immediate threats. The result? We remain in a state of low-grade panic.

3. Sleep as Therapy

Sleep is not just rest—it’s therapy. Quality sleep supports emotional regulation, decision-making, and overall resilience. Leaders must treat sleep as a strategic asset, not a luxury.

4. Cognitive Reframing

When we shift how we interpret stressors, we shift their impact. Gratitude is one powerful reframing tool. Writing down five things you’re grateful for—and why—activates regions of the brain associated with joy and resilience. Practiced consistently over 30, 60, and 90 days, gratitude journaling has been shown to reduce stress and burnout significantly.

5. The Rule of Two

When adopting new habits, less is more. Dr. Nerurkar highlighted the brain’s limited capacity for change: we can sustainably integrate only two small changes at a time. Trying to do more leads to overload and failure. Strategic, focused change is key.

A Simple Practice: Stop. Breathe. Be.

To ground the science in real-life application, Dr. Nerurkar taught a brief breathing reset. In just three seconds—Stop. Breathe. Be. —you can begin to calm your nervous system:

Stop what you’re doing. Pause.
Breathe in and out.
Be fully present in the moment.

This tiny practice taps into the mind-body connection and reminds the brain that you are safe. It’s one of many tools that can help us regulate stress on the go.

A Final Word: You’re Not Alone

Perhaps most powerfully, Dr. Nerurkar reminded attendees that feeling stressed or burned out does not mean you’re weak—it means you’re human. And for Canada’s public service leaders, that humanity is being tested in unprecedented ways.

You are navigating a complex landscape—responding to global crises, managing political shifts, stewarding public trust, and driving meaningful policy in a world that often feels like it’s changing by the minute. The stakes are high, and the expectations even higher.

It’s easy to internalize stress as a personal failing, especially in a culture that prizes performance and resilience. But the truth is: the challenges you’re facing are real, and you are not alone in feeling their weight. Through patience and intentional practice, we can adapt, grow, and rewire ourselves for strength and sustainability.

In this demanding era of public leadership, resilience is not about being unaffected by stress or soldiering on at all costs—it’s about responding to challenge wisely, strategically, and with compassion for yourself and others. It’s about recognizing when to pause and giving yourself permission to reset with grace.