Commendation, when leader leaves, brings uplift (5)
I believe the answer is:
raise
'uplift' is the definition.
(I know that uplift is a more specific form of the action excite)
'commendation when leader leaves' is the wordplay.
'commendation' becomes 'praise' (praise is a kind of commendation).
'when leader leaves' means to remove the first letter.
'praise' with its initial letter taken off is 'RAISE'.
'brings' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for raise that I've seen before include "Heighten" , "More money from America" , "Cultivate by growing" , "Amplify" , "What a poker player might do" .)