Your group needs to realize that a weekly meeting is not just a way of filling in time, but a vital forum for communication. Your team should feel that the meeting is a valuable use of their time. In order to convey that, you should work on your meeting preparation. First, define a goal for the meeting. Once you ve defined your goal, create a meeting agenda.
People are less likely to brush off a meeting if they have played a role in the planning process.
Make sure that team leaders are aware that their presence is vital. It s a waste of everyone s time if decisions have to be postponed until key people can be consulted. If a team leader has another commitment, postpone or reschedule the entire meeting. If at all possible, you may want to consider meeting monthly rather than weekly. It sounds like a weekly meeting is too much for this team.