You don’t raise a team’s level by lowering your own standards to be liked.

Lowering the bar buys a pleasant week and costs the reason anyone was there. It also tends not to work, since people can tell when a standard got dropped for their comfort, and it quietly signals that you did not think they could reach it. Being liked feels safer right now. Being useful feels better six months later.

Hold one standard this week that you have been letting slide, and say plainly that you are holding it. Expect the room to be cooler for a day or two. Then offer real help to whoever has the furthest to go.