Present society leading the way (4)
I believe the answer is:
show
'present' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'society leading the way' is the wordplay.
'leading' says to take the initial letters.
'the way' becomes 'how'.
The initial letter of 'society' is 's'.
's'+'how'='SHOW'
(Other definitions for show that I've seen before include "Demonstrate; spectacle" , "Entertainment - guide" , "Demonstrate - parade" , "Display; prove" , "Musical featuring 'Old Man River'" .)