What does leadership look like when the pressure is real, the feedback is immediate, and the strength of the team matters more than any one person? In this episode of Kapitol Conversations, Andrew Deveson is joined by Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, Bulldogs AFLW player and Kapitol cadet Isabelle Pritchard, and Kapitol co-founder and Director David Caputo for a candid conversation on leadership, trust, resilience and what it takes to build high-performing teams. The conversation moves between elite sport and construction, exploring what both environments ask of their people: clear standards, honest feedback, strong relationships and the ability to keep showing up when conditions get hard. Marcus reflects on becoming a leader early in his AFL career, the responsibility that comes with captaincy, and why influence has to extend beyond performance on the field. He speaks about the Bulldogs as a “feedback factory”, where planning, execution and review are part of the weekly rhythm, and why leaders need to invest in relationships long before difficult conversations are needed. Isabelle shares what she has learned from balancing an elite AFLW career with the start of her professional career in construction. From asking for help, to staying curious, to building confidence in high-pressure environments, she reflects on how vulnerability and consistency can become strengths, especially when a team is rebuilding or when the path forward is not always clear. Dave brings the construction perspective, reflecting on the leadership decisions that shaped Kapitol through COVID, rapid growth and major industry disruption. He discusses curiosity, pride in the work, discipline over motivation, and why hard moments often reveal who a business really is. Throughout the episode, the discussion covers key questions for leaders in sport, construction and any team environment: What does it take to lead before you feel fully ready? How do you balance trust, care and accountability in a high-performance team? Why do difficult conversations only work when the relationship has already been built? What can construction learn from the speed and honesty of feedback in elite sport? How do young leaders build influence without pretending to have all the answers? Why do teams often learn more in difficult periods than when everything is going well? What did COVID teach Kapitol about backing people, building systems and thinking long term? How do curiosity, pride and discipline shape better leaders over time? And why does “showing up” remain one of the simplest and most important tests of resilience? This episode is a grounded conversation about leadership under pressure, and the habits that help teams hold together when the work gets hard. From the footy field to the construction site, the message is clear: strong teams are built before the moment they are tested. Subscribe and Follow: Follow Kapitol on LinkedIn and Instagram, and visit our website at www.kapitol.com.
