Over two thirds of employees are unengaged or actively disengaged (Gallup, 2014). Most wish they could be anywhere else but at work – for good reasons. A manager might be superb at running a large group, aligning strategy, building political bridges, meeting goals and deadlines, and managing budgets. But at the end of a long day, she or he will be exhausted and stressed from ticking off the required to-dos. Missing is a sense of ownership, autonomy, excitement, creativity. You lose out, and your company loses out.

How can you revitalize your job or personal life and be more valuable to your colleagues? Try introducing new ideas.

In the animated movie Ratatouille, Chef Auguste Gusteau wrote the bestseller “Anyone Can Cook.” In the same way, I believe anyone can form new ideas. The neurons may be rusty, but with willing practice anyone can rev them up to bring the power of new ideas to their job, venture, personal life, family, and community.

But you may say, “Don’t I need innate talent and creativity to come up with great ideas?” True, great ideas seem to be few and far between. But there is an infinite number of good ideas to be discovered, some of which turn out to be great. Don’t let conventional wisdom discourage you from creative thinking.

Recently I had a chance to re-read The Five Faces of Genius by Annette Moser-Wellman, a leading expert on innovation who researched creative people throughout history. She came up with a framework to understand where ideas come from, and described five kinds of creativity we can leverage to become more productive. Her framework is one of many, but I do recommend reading her book if you are running short of ideas.

Can you see yourself as one or more of the following personalities? If you’re curious, the book provides a self-test.

1. Seer – The Power to Image

The painter Paul Gauguin said, “I shut my eyes in order that I may see.” Beethoven composed his Ninth Symphony after he had become deaf. A seer is someone who uses their mind’s eye to see what is possible in the future. You are someone who can imagine your office redesigned with a new layout and color scheme, or envision how people might connect with their social network through smart home interfaces. You visualize in great detail, and modify those details to make the vision even clearer. This visualization yields the breakthrough.

2. Observer – The Power to Notice Detail

Walt Disney reportedly got his idea for Disneyland when he took his daughters to an old amusement park. He noticed details like the dilapidated rides, unfriendly operators, filth, and poor sanitation, which led him to ask, “What if there were a fun place for the whole family to enjoy together?” That eventually led to a revolutionary theme park concept. As Observer, you notice every little detail. Details are the data input that defines the problem and stimulates the ideas.

3. Alchemist – The Power to Connect Domains

This creative style harnesses the power of analogy. Could bank ATMs work to dispense not cash, but medications, in a retail setting? In another example, Amazon Prime Air is a service that combines the robotic technology of aerial drones with an online retail model to deliver goods even faster than one can go to a local store to pick up those items. Applying ideas from a different domain requires the willingness to suspend disbelief and ask, “What if?” The answer can often astonish and lead to a breakthrough.

4. Fool – The Power to Celebrate Weakness

Attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive, 3M scientist Dr. Spencer Silver instead created a low-strength, tacky, reusable substance — a failure. Five years later his colleague Art Fry tapped the power of the Fool by using the tacky glue to keep his bookmark in place. This eventually led to one of 3M’s bestselling products, the ubiquitous Post-It Notes. A Fool analyzes failures to mine their redeeming value, often in surprising ways.

5. Sage – The Power to Simplify

Movies such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars rely on certain foundational themes: good vs. evil, revenge, love, triumph of the underdog, a messiah who fulfills prophecy, man/woman vs. society. Moviegoers readily recognize these themes, which help them understand the movie. Similarly, a Sage boils a problem down to its core essence, often using historical precedent, in order to understand what ideas are needed. The insights gained can outweigh the risk of oversimplification.

Do you have a problem that’s been bugging you for a while? Try a different approach. You may get the breakthrough you need.