Chief to go ahead, with hesitation (6)
I believe the answer is:
leader
'chief' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'go ahead with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'go ahead' becomes 'lead' (I've seen this before).
'with hesitation' becomes 'er' (I've seen this in other clues).
'lead'+'er'='LEADER'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for leader that I've seen before include "Head, guide" , "Person in charge" , "One whose example is followed" , "Front-runner or head of group" , "Head (of government, etc)" .)