The Need to Lead

A TOPGUN Instructor's Lessons on How Leadership Solves Every Challenge

By: Dave Berke, Jocko Willink - foreword

In this third book in the Extreme Ownership trilogy, a retired fighter pilot and TOPGUN instructor, now serving as the Chief Development Officer at Echelon Front, teaches listeners the importance of leadership and how to implement it.

The Need to Lead invokes the classic Top Gun movie quote. It is also an undeniable truth that author Dave Berke experienced as a Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, TOPGUN instructor, ground combat leader, husband, and father. This book, based on his experiences and teachings, helps listeners be better leaders and understand that leadership is a universal requirement for success, no matter the environment.

Every person needs to lead in order to succeed. By adopting the right leadership mindsets and behaviors, we gain the capacity to solve problems, support the people around us, and amend our mistakes. How do we develop these necessary skills? By embracing the principles imparted to Berke from each humbling moment in the cockpit:

1) EVERYONE IS A LEADER: From the CEO to the most junior employee, everyone at every level, is a leader. Leadership isn’t about rank, title, position, or function. The more people see themselves as leaders, the more they want to contribute to the team's success.

2) LEADERSHIP EXISTS IN EVERY CAPACITY: Leadership is often viewed as an attribute relevant to our professional lives, but it exists in every capacity, it applies in every situation. The same behaviors should guide us as parents, spouses, family members, and friends of all kinds.

3) EVERY PROBLEM WE FACE IS A LEADERSHIP PROBLEM: The problems we confront at work aren’t caused by external factors. They are caused by our failure to lead. Our child’s behavior isn’t just a function of their age and tendencies; it’s about us as parents. If a lack of leadership is the problem, and good leadership is the solution, then how we lead becomes the most critical factor affecting the outcome.

4) LEADERSHIP IS A SKILL: Good leaders aren’t simply born. Leadership can be learned, which means every single person in the world can get better at it if they choose. This book is their guide.

Through compelling stories from TOPGUN training and combat to the boardroom and at home, Berke gives listeners the necessary tools to succeed.

©2025 Dave Berke and Jocko Willink (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Our ability to thrive depends on our ability to lead ourselves and others while in constantly changing circumstances. Berke shows us how to do that by conquering our ego, harnessing our deepest resources, and letting the natural leader inside us emerge.” ―Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D.

"Dave Berke's The Need to Lead takes you inside the cockpit and down into the dirt, blending the high-speed world of aerial dogfights with the gritty realities of leading troops in ground combat. Drawing from his experiences as a Marine Corps fighter pilot and as an ANGLICO Team leader in Ramadi, Iraq, Berke blends stories from the front lines with hard-earned lessons learned under extreme pressure and then translates those lessons into actionable and practical counsel that extends far beyond the battlefield. Whether you’re flying at Mach speeds, leading a team from the boardroom, or navigating the complexities of life, Berke demonstrates that true leadership demands decisiveness, adaptability, and humility. For a leadership guide forged in the crucible of combat, look no further than The Need to Lead." ―Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Targeted Beirut and The Terminal List series

"Raw, heart pounding, and incredibly authentic, The Need to Lead takes you from the cockpit to the foxhole, from the boardroom to the living room and teaches you leadership lessons that only a guy like Dave Berke could teach. This book will change the way you think about leadership and it will make you a better leader in the C-Suite and a better person in life." ―Admiral William H. McRaven, U.S. Navy (Retired), #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed