Following instinct, director proceeded carefully (5)
I believe the answer is:
nosed
'proceeded carefully' is the definition.
(to nose along is to move along slowly)
'following instinct director' is the wordplay.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'instinct' becomes 'nose' (a nose for something is a good instinct for it).
'director' becomes 'd'.
'nose'+'d' is 'NOSED'.
(Other definitions for nosed that I've seen before include "Snooped" , "Moved slowly upwards" , "proceeded slowly" , "See 1 Across" , "Beginner" .)