I don’t treat the band like I’m above them or that they’re a hired hand for me. We’ve never worked that way. So I’m a team player. I would be very uncomfortable having to do this alone.

Petty frames his leadership as collaborative rather than hierarchical, rejecting the star-and-sidemen model common in rock. By emphasizing that the band is not a “hired hand,” he signals loyalty, shared authorship, and mutual respect—values closely associated with his long partnership with the Heartbreakers. The admission that he’d be “very uncomfortable” alone underscores how his artistic identity depends on collective chemistry: performance, arrangement, and decision-making are portrayed as group achievements. The quote also functions as a quiet critique of ego-driven celebrity culture, suggesting that durability and authenticity in music come from teamwork and stable relationships rather than individual dominance.