You want to make your boss happy. The reasons for this are many and if you don't agree you are obviously in process of changing jobs or careers. The very basis for making him/her happy is to tell them what you are doing. Bosses hate not knowing: I know – I have spent most of my career being a boss at many levels. I was successful as told by my bosses and my teams. Read on: I will tell you what I wanted to know.
The answer is simple and does not require an MBA: your boss wants to know what you have done recently and what you will do soon.
You need to be sure an communicate what results you have produced lately – in the last week or two, and what results you plan on producing in the next two to three weeks. The most important word in here is results.
Just accomplishments because that's the only thing that the boss wants to know. Now, don't get me wrong, all those other things fit well in a separate conversation but they are not what makes the business move forward. One exception is to acknowledge that you are stuck and need help in order to forward: the boss has to know that and wants to know that so he/she can help you get unstuck.
When you report on your accomplishments it is very important that they coincide with your goals and the goals of the greater team and organization. Rearranging your furniture or getting that new, snazzy haircut probably won't impress anyone. You see if you achieve your goals – your boss achieves his goals, his boss achieves her goals, the company achieves its goals and everybody is really happy. And you get a nice promotion and a raise. I hope.
OK, well there you have my take on what your boss really wants to know about your work. Do you have anything to add? Yes? Well then, please comment! With your help this could shape up to be a very intersting and helpful conversation.
If you want to dig a little deeper check out