When starting a new leadership position, how do you avoid misjudging talent capabilities and overestimating -- or underestimating-- what the organization is capable of?

Where organisation is at any point in time is what its capabilities are.

First, listen more than you talk. Dig into what people say, what they don’t, and what’s actually getting done. Shadow the workflow, not just the org chart, to see who’s carrying the load and where the bottlenecks hide. Don’t assume past wins or shiny resumes equal current horsepower. Test the waters with small, low-stakes challenges to gauge skills and bandwidth. Cross-check your gut with data: metrics, output, customer feedback, to keep your optimism or skepticism in line.

I dig in deep in the one on ones.  I work to try and understand what the skillset is of each staff member, and try and align that with expectations of each position.  I ask former or current supervisors for feedback and information about people and jobs.  I look at ticket MTTR and project completion rates, and I look at previous performance ratings.   

Then I mix it all around in my head and think about it, and then I have more focused one on ones.  And if it all works out, I end up with an evaluation of each person and their ability and capacity, skills, change behavior, etc.  

Obviously the larger the organization you're leading, the harder this is to really do.