Dictated northern city guides (5)
I believe the answer is:
leads
'guides' is the definition.
('lead' can be a synonym of 'guide')
'dictated northern city' is the wordplay.
'dictated' shows a homophone (sound like) (how it might sound if someone dictated it).
'northern city' becomes 'leeds'.
'leeds' is a homophone of 'LEADS'.
(Other definitions for leads that I've seen before include "Clues" , "Actors who play principle roles" , "Goes ahead" , "Takes initiative" , "Directs" .)