There is a continuous path of low resistance provided from the lightning rod down to the ground. This gives the electricity a path that it will prefer over actually going into any building components.
I smaller buildings this is basically a large copper wire down to ground, in a skyscraper this might be a continuous path of steel columns/welded reinforcement that goes to the foundations.
The rod channels the electricity from the lightning to a ground material. Maybe the dirt, maybe something on the roof of the building. Either way, the lightning hits the rod and is carried to, and then dumped in, a material it just can’t move through. When it hits that non conductive material, there’s nothing for it to do but dissipate because it can’t go on any further.
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