Some top residents take a leading position (7)
I believe the answer is:
preside
'take a leading position' is the definition.
(as in presiding over something)
'some top residents' is the wordplay.
'some' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'PRESIDE' is hidden within 'top residents'.
(Other definitions for preside that I've seen before include "Take the chair" , "Be in authority (over)" , "Be chairman" .)