If a group hires you to be their director, you'll quickly suss out what they NEED.

Just as importantly, you need to find out what they WANT.

Metaphor:
You've been hired to captain their ship. Where do they want to go? Why? You can't go anywhere without a destination and you can't plot the best route unless you know why they want to go there.

Do they: Want to develop a form? Want to perform at festivals? Want to become a member team/house team? Want to do fuck-around shows every so often?

And at the same time ask WHY? WHY do they want to develop a form? WHY do you want to perform at festivals? WHY do you want to do this or that or the other fucking thing?

Metaphor:
(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to experience sea travel together.
--->You suggest stopping at Honolulu so they get more of a tourist experience.

(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) The group wants to see whales.
--->You suggest changing the route to Alaska where it's whale season and more likely to see whales.

(WANT) The group wants to sail from Seattle to Tokyo.
(WHY) They just want to be on the water.
--->You suggest a cheaper coastal trip along the west coast.

Same WANT, different WHYs.

If you're any sort of director, you'll easily figure out what folks NEED -- scenework, characterwork, etc. -- but you need to know what they WANT to do and WHY. Knowing and working with these creates motivation and momentum for a project; if they know that one thing leads to another and to another and ultimately to their WANT, then they'll be more invested as individuals and a group.